BS  2417  .S7  J37  1908 
Jenks,  Jeremiah  Whipple, 

1856-1929. 
The  political  and  social 

sianificancG  of  the  life 


THE 
POLITICAL  AND   SOCIAL  SIGNIFICANCE 

OF    THE 

LIFE  AND  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


The 

Political  and  Social  Significance 

of  the 

Life  and  Teachings  of  Jesus 


/by 
JEREMIAH  W.  JENKS,  Ph.D.,  LL.D. 

Professor  of  Political  Economy  and  Politics 
Cornell  University 


NEW   YORK 
YOUNG   MEN'S  CHRISTIAN   ASSOCIATION  PRESS 

1908 


Copyright,  1906,  by 

THE   INTERNATIONAL   COMMITTEE   OF 

YOUNG    MEN'S   CHRISTIAN    ASSOCIATIONS 

[7-0-P  3177-2^^] 


To 

My  Sister 


Preface 


Every  thoughtful  person  who  has  given  even  the  slightest  attention 
to  the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus  must  have  been  impressed  with 
the  practical  way  in  which  he  applied  his  principles  of  life  to  the 
every-day  experiences  of  the  people  about  him.  As  a  student  of 
social  science  and  politics,  it  has  been  a  source  of  satisfaction  to  me 
to  see  in  how  many  cases  the  principles  laid  down  by  him  have  made 
their  way,  often  without  the  will  of  political  or  social  leaders,  into 
the  scheme  of  our  modern  life.  The  Christian  religion  has  proved 
itself  practical  in  politics,  and  statesmen  are  realizing  as  never  before 
that  God  cannot  be  left  out  as  a  factor  in  public  affairs.  Like  all 
of  the  great  thinkers  who  have  weighed  the  deeper  problems  of  life, 
individual  and  social — Job,  Aristotle,  Dante,  Shakespeare — Jesus 
looked  deeper  than  the  mere  surface  experiences  of  the  day ;  and 
where  they  discussed  and  explained,  he  touched  and  solved  the 
problems  that  are  universal.  The  student  is  often  struck  by  the 
modernness  of  the  views  of  Aristotle  in  matters  of  politics.  To  a 
far  greater  degree  may  one  notice  the  modernness  of  the  teachings 
of  Jesus  on  almost  all  questions  of  personal  and  social  life,  simply 
because  he  deals  with  the  universal  and  his  answers  are  complete 
for  all  time. 

Some  five  or  six  years  ago,  at  the  request  of  the  Cornell  Univer- 
sity Christian  Association,  I  gave  a  series  of  Sunday  morning  talks 
upon  the  application  of  the  life  and  the  teachings  of  Jesus  to  political 
and  social  problems.  The  views  expressed  by  me,  of  course,  are  not 
those  of  a  special  student  of  biblical  literature  or  of  the  principles 
of  theology ;  they  are  the  views  of  a  layman,  a  student  of  politics  and 
economics,  who  has  taken  a  very  great  interest  in  seeing  how  the 
teachings  which  Jesus  applied  in  his  own  life  fit  themselves  into  the 
views  and  practices  of  the  best  thinkers  of  the  present  day,  as  they 
have  molded  the  practices  of  those  of  the  past,  so  that  they  are 
surely,  altho  too  slowly,  regenerating  the  world. 

Except  incidentally,  these  talks  were,  naturally, not  at  all  doctrinal; 
but  when  at  times  a  student  asked  for  the  application  to  the  problems 


viii  PREFACE 

of  to-day  of  the  sayings  of  Jesus,  or  when  some  of  the  more  common 
church  doctrines  seemed  to  come  normally  within  the  scope  of  the 
discussion,  I  did  not  hesitate  to  express  an  opinion,  tho  I  tried  to 
encourage  tolerant  discussion.  While  for  many  years  I  have  been 
a  member  of  one  of  the  evangelical  churches,  it  is  not  expected  that 
all  the  opinions  expressed  will  satisfy  every  one ;  but  they  have  been 
in  many  cases  comforting  to  me,  because  they  seemed  to  me  to  show 
the  practical  reasonableness  of  the  teachings  and  practices  of  him 
whom,  whatever  some  may  think  who  regard  religion  as  a  mere 
sentiment,  I  believe  to  be  the  chief  working  influence  in  the  world's 
history.  I  hope  that  these  thoughts  may  be  helpful  to  others ;  but 
1  have  no  fault  to  find  with  those  who  hold  diflferent  views. 

To  me  the  chief  intellectual  characteristics  of  Jesus  are  his  spirit 
of  impartiality,  his  broadmindedness,  his  aloofness  from  selfish  inter- 
ests. It  will  be  seen  that  my  belief  in  these  characteristics  has  been 
the  basis  of  my  interpretation  of  some  of  his  teachings. 

The  material  used  in  the  preparation  of  this  series  of  lessons 
has  been  mainly  the  Gospels,  but  I  have  also  been  very  much 
interested  in  reading  some  other  books  that  have  treated  these 
same  questions.  I  have  not  confined  myself  to  those  of  any  one 
school  of  thought  or  criticism;  I  have  not  inquired  whether  the 
books  would  support  any  special  doctrinal  views  or  not.  I  am  not 
aware  that  I  have  taken  any  one  of  the  writers  cited  as  a  chief 
guide.  Some  have  been  helpful  on  certain  topics,  others  on  different 
ones.  Students  will  have  the  same  experience.  It  is  a  useful  prac- 
tice for  a  student  to  read  thoughtfully  the  views  of  different  writers 
and  to  attempt  to  make  a  judgment.  The  power  of  judgment  must 
grow  by  practice.  Such  practice  under  a  wise  teacher  will  be  of 
the  greatest  service,  and  will  help  much  in  making  the  student  more 
useful  in  his  life  work. 

When  these  talks  were  first  given  there  were  a  number  of  re- 
quests that  they  be  published;  but  I  felt  that  I  did  not  have  the 
critical  knowledge  desirable  for  the  writer  of  a  book  on  so  vital  a 
theme.  My  purpose  in  the  talks  had  been  rather  to  stimulate  thought 
and  encourage  investigation  than  to  expound  my  own  beliefs.  When, 
however,  in  the  repetition  of  the  course  during  the  last  year,  the 
request  came  to  put  these  talks  into  the  form  of  suggestive  lessons 
which  might  be  used  by  students,  it  seemed  to  me  that  in  this  form 
they  might  prove  useful.  I  send  them  out,  not  as  critical  exposi- 
tions, but  rather  as  a  series  of  statements  and  questions  that  I  hope 
may  prove  stimulating  and  helpful.  Altho  from  the  very  nature 
of  the  study  it  is  essential,  if  the  course  is  to  be  most  useful,  that 
the  viewpoint  be  primarily  that  of  a  study  of  Jesus  the  man,  I  trust 
that  the  spirit  has  been  reverent  thruout  and  that  the  effect  of  work 


PREFACE  ix 

in  this  course  may  be  to  encourage  not  only  further  study  but  also 
better  living. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  me  to  acknowledge  the  very  helpful  assistance 
given  me  in  the  preparation  of  these  lessons  by  Miss  Emelyn  F.  Peck. 
In  several  instances  she  prepared  the  first  draft  of  the  outlines  from 
notes  and  stenographic  reports  of  my  lectures ;  in  many  cases  she 
has  made  the  references,  and  she  has  usually  verified  them.  Thruout, 
her  suggestions  have  been  valuable.  Without  her  aid  it  would  not 
have  been  possible  for  me  to  have  prepared  the  course  within  the 
time  at  my  disposal. 

Cornell  University,  October  i,  1906. 


Contents 


PAGE 

Preface  xi 

Suggestions  xv 

Bibliography xvii 

Study  I. — Society  and  Social  Forces  :  the  Materials  with 
Which  Jesus  Worked 

1.  The  Point  of  View 2 

2.  The  Nature  of  Society 4 

3.  Mental  and  Moral  Inertia 6 

4.  The  Motive  of  Self-interest 8 

5.  Religious    Aspiration 10 

6.  Group  Characteristics. 12 

7.  Review    14 

Study  II. — Jesus'  Preparation  for  His  Work 

1.  His  Surroundings 16 

2.  His    Training 18 

3.  His    Character 20 

4.  Jesus  and  the  Messiahship 22 

5.  John's  Preaching  and  the  Baptism 24 

6.  Plans  for  His  Kingdom 26 

7.  Review    28 

Study  III. — Jesus'  Conception  of  His  Social  Mission:  Its 
Relation  to  the  State 

1.  Jesus  to  Found  a  New  Kingdom 30 

2.  The  Nature  of  the  Kingdom :  Its  Constitution  32 

3.  Admission  to  Citizenship  in  the  Kingdom 34 

4.  The  Method  of  Growth  of  the  Kingdom 36 

5.  Jesus'  Authority  in  His  Kingdom 38 

6.  Relation  of  His  Kingdom  to  the  State 40 

7.  Review    42 

Study  IV. — The   Principle  of   Individual   Responsibility: 
Its  Social  Significance 

1.  Twofold   Responsibility  of  the  Individual....  44 

2.  Individual  Responsibility  for  the  Use  of  Oppor- 

tunity     46 

xi 


xu  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

3.  Independence  in  Judgment  Regarding  our  Du- 

ties      48 

4.  Religious  Forms  and  Christian  Duties 50 

5.  Relation  of  the  Church  to  Christian  Living 52 

6.  Individual  Responsibility  in  its  Relation  to  our 

Habits  and  Beliefs 54 

7.  Review    '  56 

Study  V. — Jesus'  Teaching  as  to    Faith    and    Content- 
ment: Its  Social  Significance 

1.  Our  Value  in  God's  Sight 58 

2.  "Take  no  Thought  for  the  Morrow" 60 

3.  Our    Business    to    dO'   our    Work :     Peace    tlie 

Result  62 

4.  Our  Work  and  Our  Father's  Business 64 

5.  God  to  be  Trusted  for  Results 66 

6.  Faith  and   Contentment   in   Relation  to   Good 

Government 68 

7.  Review    70 

Study  VI. — Jesus'  Attitude  toward   Pleasures 

1.  His  Recognition  of  Society  and  Social  Customs    72 

2.  His  Attitude  toward  Asceticism 74 

3.  The  Need  of  Thoughtfulness 76 

4.  Relation  of  the  Development  of  the  Individual 

to  Social  Progress 78 

5-  Jesus  does  not  Condemn   Pleasures  or   Social 

Customs  in  Themselves 80 

6.  The  Tests  of  Our  Social  Customs. .   82 

7.  Review    84 

Study  VII. — Jesus'  Teaching  Regarding  Wealth 

1.  Wealth  of  Slight  Moment  Compared  with  En- 

trance into  the  Kingdom 86 

2.  The  Difficulty  of  Striving  at  the  Same  Time  for 

Wealth  and  Spiritual  Excellence 88 

3.  Wealth  need  not  be  Sought,  but  Thrift  is  Com- 

mended       90 

4.  The  Duty  of  Generosity  and  Thoughtfulness  in 

the  Use  of  Wealth 92 

5.  Relation  of  the  Spirit  of  the  Giver  to  the  Value 

of  the  Gift 94 

6.  Significance  of  the  Common    Purse    kept    by 

Jesus  and  His  Disciples 96 

7.  Review   98 


CONTENTS  »" 

PAGE 

Study  VIII. — ^Jesus'  Attitude  toward  the  Poor 

I.Jesus'   Sympathy   for  the  Poor loo 

2.  Generosity  Commended  chiefly  for   its   Effect 

upon  the  Giver 102 

3.  Jesus'  Poverty  in  no  Way  Encourages  Begging  104 

4.  Assistance  may  well  be  Accepted  under  proper 

Conditions  106 

5.  Jesus'  Attitude  toward  Hypocrites  and  Frauds  108 

6.  Selfishness  not  to  be  Excused  by  Fear  of  Fraud  no 

7.  Review    112 

Study  IX. — ^Jesus'  Views  Regarding  Crime  and  the  Treat- 
ment OF  Criminals 

1.  Significance  of  Jesus'   Dictum  as  to   Lending 

and  Giving 114 

2.  Significance  of  His  Dictum  of  "Judge  Not"  .. .  116 

3.  Crime  from  the  Moral  Viewpoint 118 

4.  The  Punishment  of  Crime  and  Jesus'  Forgive- 

ness of  Sin 120 

5.  Aim  in  the  Treatment  of  Criminals 122 

6.  Jesus'  Method  of  Overcoming  Evil 124 

7.  Review    126 

Study  X. — Jesus'  Teaching  Regarding  Non-resistance  to 
Evil 

1.  Non-resistance  in   Harmony  with  a   Spiritual 

Kingdom   128 

2.  To  Whom  the  Principle  Applies 130 

3.  Attitude  of  State  and  Individual  toward  Evil- 

doers      132 

4.  Significance  to  the  Individual  of  the  Principle 

of  Non-resistance   134 

5.  The  Abolition  of  War 136 

6.  The  Foundation  of  a  World  Parliament 138 

7.  Review    140 

Study  XI. — Jesus'  Principles  of  Social  Reform 

1.  Necessity  of  Knowledge  of  Men  and  of  Society  142 

2.  Relation  of  Individual  Reform  to  Social  Re- 

form       144 

3.  Christian  Social  Progress  Necessarily  Slow...  146 

4.  Obstacles  and  Opposition  to  Progress 148 


"V  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

5.  Adverse    Conditions    Demand    Patience    and 

Faith  ISO 

6.  Points  of  Emphasis  in  the  Teachings  of  Jesus.  152 

7.  Review   154 

Study  XII. — Jesus  the  Exemplar  of  His  Teaching 

1.  Jesus'  Joy  in  Life 156 

2.  His  Love  of  Nature 158 

3.  His  Enjoyment  of  Social  Life..  160 

4.  His  Mental  Activity :  Speaking,  Discussion,  In- 

sight      162 

5.  His  Consciousness  of  Power  and  Right 164 

6.  His   Certainty  of   Success 166 

7.  Review    168 


Suggestions 


These  lessons  have  been  prepared  for  a  course  of  twelve  weeks, 
with  the  thought  that  it  will  probably  be  best  to  devote  some  time 
each  day  to  the  study.  Provision  is  made  for  a  review  of  the  week's 
work  on  Sunday,  and  for  thinking  out  some  questions  suggested 
by  the  lessons.  In  part,  these  questions  are  for  review,  but  in  the 
main  they  are  intended  to  suggest  some  lines  of  collateral  thought 
or  some  practical  application  of  the  principles  laid  down  to  the 
affairs  of  everyday  life. 

Classes  differ  so  much  in  the  age  of  the  students,  in  the  time  at 
their  disposal,  in  their  interest  in  the  topics  under  discussion,  in  the 
tastes  and  inclinations  of  the  teacher,  that  no  definite  rule  should 
be  laid  down  regarding  the  amount  of  time  to  be  given  to  the  course. 
For  some  classes  it  will  doubtless  be  found  best  to  give  two  weeks 
or  more  to  a  study,  especially  if  the  students  become  interested  in 
the  discussion  of  the  questions.  The  daily  readings  may  well  be 
repeated,  the  student  looking  up  each  day  authorities  not  consulted 
before.  In  some  cases,  if  the  class  desires  thoro  work,  it  may  be 
found  best  to  give  to  the  course  the  entire  college  year. 

Each  day  the  student  should  read  at  least  the  outline  and  the 
references  to  the  Bible.  Only  a  few  references  have  been  given 
under  each  topic.  It  would  be  well  to  read,  in  connection  with 
these,  other  passages  on  similar  subjects,  such  as  can  readily  be 
found  in  a  harmony  of  the  Gospels  or  in  a  good  concordance.  If  time 
can  be  taken  to  read  the  views  of  some  of  the  other  writers  referred 
to,  so  much  the  better.  Each  student  will  do  well  to  own  and  read 
some  good  life  of  Jesus  in  connection  with  the  work. 

Wherever  questions  are  asked,  an  effort  should  be  made  to  think 
out  a  clear  answer.  It  will  often  be  best  to  put  the  answer  in  writ- 
ing so  as  to  be  sure  that  a  clear  opinion  has  been  reached. 

If  the  syllabus  is  made  the  basis  of  class  work  on  Sundays,  the 
teacher  should  select  the  two  or  three  most  important  thoughts  and 
make  them  the  basis  of  free  discussion.  There  is  no  intention  what- 
ever to  dogmatize  in  the  lessons  themselves.  The  students  should 
read  different  authorities,  so  that  several  views  will  be  represented. 


xvi  SUGGESTIONS 

A  candid,  honest  discussion,  under  the  leadership  of  a  wise  teacher, 
will  aid  more  than  anything  else  in  clarifying  the  judgment,  and 
especially  in  giving  the  stimulus  needed  to  put  the  lessons  taught 
into  practical  effect.  "The  best  that  we  can  do  for  one  another  is 
to  exchange  our  thoughts  freely." 


Bibliography 


The  Bibi^,  Revised   Version,  especially   the   Gospels   of  Matthew, 

Mark,  Luke,  and  John. 
Stevens  and  Burton  :    A  Harmony  of  the  Gospels;    New    York, 

Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1905. 
James,  C.  C.  :    A  Harmony  of  the  Gospels;  London,  C.  J.  Qay  & 

Sons,  1892. 
Pittenger,   William  :    The  Interwoven  Gospels  and  Gospel  Har- 
mony; Boston,  The  Pilgrim  Press. 
Robinson,  Edward  :    A  Harmony  of  the  Four  Gospels  in  English; 

Boston,  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co. 
Edersheim,  Alfred:    The  Life  and  Times  of  Jesus  the  Messiah;  2 

vols.     New  York,  Anson  D.  F.  Randolph  &  Co. 
Sanday,  W.  :    Outlines  of  the  Life  of  Christ;   New  York,  Charles 

Scribner's  Sons,  1905. 
Fairbairn,  a.  M.  :   Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ;  London,  Hodder 

&  Stoughton,  1889. 
Andrews,  Samuel  J. :    The  Life  of  Our  Lord  upon  the  Earth;  New 

York,  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1892. 
Schmidt,  Nathaniel:    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth;  New  York,  The 

Macmillan  Co.,  1905. 
Farrar,  Frederic  W.  :    The  Life  of  Christ;  New  York,  E.  P.  But- 
ton &  Co.,  1895. 
Stalker,  James  :   Life  of  Jesus  Christ;  Edinburgh,  T.  &  T.  Clark, 

1891. 
Gilbert,  George  H.  :    The  Student's  Life  of  Jesus;  Chicago,  Press 

of  the  Chicago  Theological  Seminary,  1896. 
Rhees,  Rush  :    The  Life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth;  New  York,  Charles 

Scribner's  Sons,  1900. 
Geikie,  Cunningham  :    The  Life  and  Words  of  Christ;  New  York, 

D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  1883. 
Stevens,  George  Barker:    The  Teaching  of  Jesus;  New  York,  The 

Macmillan  Co.,  1901. 
Mathews,   Shailer  :    The  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus;  New  York, 

The  Macmillan  Co.,  1897. 

xvii 


xviii  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Mathews,  Shailer:     The  Messianic  Hope  in  the  New  Testament; 

Chicago,  The  University  of  Chicago  Press,  1905. 
Speer,  Robert  E.  :    The  Principles  of  Jesus;  New  York,  Fleming  H. 

Revell  Company,  1902. 
Peabodv,  Francis  G.  :   Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question;  New 

York,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  1900. 
Peabody,  Francis  G.  :    Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character; 

New  York,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  1905. 
Seeley,  J.  R. :    Ecce  Homo;  London  and  Cambridge,  Macmillan  & 

Co.,  1866. 
Harnack,  Adolf:    What  is  Christianity f;  London,  Williams  &  Nor- 

gate,  1901. 
Simpson,  P.  Carnegie:    The  Fact  of  Christ;  New  York,  Fleming 

H.  Revell  Co.,  1901. 
HiLLis,  Newell  Dwight  :    The  InHuence  of  Christ  in  Modern  Life; 

New  York,  The  Macmillan  Co.,  1900. 
Hyde,  William  DeWitt:    From  Epicurus  to  Christ;  New  York, 

The  Macmillan  Co.,  1904. 
Spencer,   Herbert:    Principles  of  Sociology;  3  vols.;   New  York, 

D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  1888. 
Ward,  Lester  F.  :    Outlines  of  Sociology;  New  York,  The  Mac- 
millan Co.,  1899. 
GiDDiNGS,  Franklin  H.  :    The  Elements  of  Sociology;  New  York, 

The  Macmillan  Co.,  1898. 
Jenks,  Jeremiah  W.  :    Citizenship  and  the  Schools;    New    York, 

Henry  Holt  &  Co.,  1906. 


STUDY  I 

Society  and  SeciAL  Forces:  the  Material  with  which  Jesus 

Worked 

"But  when  he  saw  the  multitudes  he  was  moved  with  compassion 
for  them,  because  they  were  distressed  and  scattered,  as  sheep  not 
having  a  shepherd." — Matthew  ix,  36. 

"Come  ye  after  me,  and  I  will  make  you  fishers  of  men." — Mat- 
thew iv,  19. 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


First  Day  :  dL^t  point  of  iSieto 

"Whatever  makes  men  good   Christians,  makes  them  good  citi- 
zens."— Daniel  Webster. 
Speer:   Principles  of  Jesus,  iv,  xxxii. 


SOCIETY    AND    SOCIAL    FORCES  3 

First  Day  :  dje  Point  of  Sieto 

Many  great  men  have  affected  profoundly  the  history  of  the  world ; 
Jesus  has  changed  the  fundamental  nature  of  human  society.  Many 
people,  young  men  especially,  perhaps,  are  inclined  to  look  upon 
the  Christian  religion  as  sentimental,  and  upon  its  Founder  as  ex- 
hibiting an  admirable  character,  gentle  and  lovable,  but  as  giving 
nothing  of  special  service  for  the  hard  tasks  of  a  working  world. 
On  the  contrary,  any  thoro  study  of  history  shows  the  reason- 
ableness of  Christianity  as  founded  by  Jesus,  and  its  practical  effi- 
ciency in  the  greater  affairs  of  statesmanship  as  well  as  in  the 
individual  experiences  of  the  citizen.  If,  to  meet  the  prejudiced 
criticism  of  those  who  think  they  admire  only  the  strong  heroes  of 
the  past,  we  for  the  time  consider  Jesus  merely  as  the  man  who 
walked  and  talked  in  Palestine,  even  then  we  find  him  a  hero,  with 
an  intellect  of  almost  startling  strength  and  originality,  and  with 
a  moral  boldness  and  courage  unequalled,  but  amply  justified  from 
the  human  standpoint  by  the  revolutionary  success  of  his  teachings. 
In  consequence  of  these  practical  results,  we  may  well  claim  in  our 
work  with  ambitious  young  men  that  thru  a  study  of  his  life 
and  teaching  we  have  an  opportunity  of  getting  ideas  and  sugges- 
tions of  prime  value  for  our  own  practical  work  in  society.  Our 
Christianity  will  be  not  merely  a  matter  of  feeling;  it  will  be  of 
practical  worth  in  our  life-work. 

The  work  of  Jesus  was  primarily  social.  We  can  understand  it 
only  by  understanding  the  material  witli  which  he  worked  and 
the  methods  which  he  employed. 

For  this  special  study  to  be  of  the  highest  value  to  us  in  our 
own  personal  lives,  it  is  desirable  that  we  view  the  problem  of  Jesus' 
work  in  society  from  the  point  of  view  of  society  of  the  present  daj% 
with  the  understanding  that  in  the  time  of  Jesus,  even  as  now,  society 
was  molded  by  forces  that  we  ourselves  to  a  greater  or  less  degree 
may  control ;  and  that  in  his  dealings  with  men  he  knew  human 
nature,  and  employed  the  means  that  we  are  to  use.  Our  purpose 
is  "the  application  to  conduct  today,  under  its  changed  conditions. 
of  the  principles  which  found  expression  in  the  life  and  teaching 
of  Jesus  nineteen  hundred  years  ago,  but  which,  because  they  are 
principles,  are  not  local,  transient  and  personal,  but  universal  and 
abiding." — Speer. 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Second  Day  :  C^e  JQatare  of  i)0(ietp 

"It  is  evident  that  the  state  is  a  creation  of  nature,  and  that  man 
is  by  nature  a  political  animal.  And  he  who  by  nature  and  not  by 
mere  accident  is  without  a  state,  is  either  above  humanity  or  below 
it;  he  is  the 

'Tribeless,  lawless,  hearthless  one,' 

whom  Homer  denounces — the  outcast  who  is  a  lover  of  war ;  he 
may  be  compared  to  a  bird  which  flies  alone." — Aristotle. 

"Men  were  born  for  the  service  and  benefit  of  each  other." — 
Marcus  Aurelius. 

Matthew  vii,  16-20;  xi,  16-19;  xiii,  54-58. 

Mark  vi,  1-6. 

Luke  xi,  11-13. 

GiDDiNGS :   Elements  of  Sociology,  Chapters  V  and  VI. 

Peabody:    Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question,  Chapter  VII. 

Mathews  :    Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  VIII. 

Speer:     Principles  of  Jesus,  Introduction. 

Jenks  :   Citizenship  and  the  Schools,  Chapters  I  and  II. 


SOCIETY   AND   SOCIAL   FORCES  $ 

Second  Day  :  Cl^c  JBlature  of  ^ocietp 

Every  society  is  built  upon  human  nature,  and  is  the  product  of 
heredity  and  environment.  Each  society  will  differ  from  every  other 
society,  but  in  most  particulars,  when  the  question  is  one  of  funda- 
mental moving  forces,  human  beings  are  much  the  same  in  all  times 
and  countries.  Men  are  of  one  species,  altho  there  are  many  varie- 
ties. In  consequence,  altho  the  religion  of  Jesus  as  he  gave  it  to 
the  world  had,  of  necessity,  local  coloring,  altho  many  of  the  inci- 
dents are  local,  and  many  of  his  sayings  were  addressed  to  local 
prejudices  and  temporary  conditions,  still  with  his  profound  insight 
into  human  nature,  he  could  and  did  touch  springs  universal,  and  his 
religion  may  well  become  eventually  a  universal  religion. 

The  prime  social  fact  in  his  day,  as  since,  is  that  of  the  inter- 
relations of  men,  and  their  interdependence  upon  one  another.  No 
person  can  live  to  himself  alone ;  his  every  act  is  bound  to  have 
influence  upon  other  persons,  and  his  own  acts  are  largely  deter- 
mined by  his  relations  to  others.  Most  of  us  who  are  taking  up 
these  lessons  will  feel  the  influence  of  our  parents,  that  of  the  social 
customs  which  led  us  to  want  a  higher  education,  and  the  causes, 
numerous  as  they  may  have  been,  which  led  us  to  study,  as  well  as 
the  influence  of  the  various  motives  that  have  dominated  those 
whose  work  has  made  our  educational  institutions  what  they  are. 

Greatest  of  all  in  its  influence  in  this  study  is  the  fact  that  Jesus 
lived  and  worked,  and  that  his  life  and  work  gave  to  religious  and 
social  thought  an  impulse  whose  force  and  active  power  have  been 
accumulating  thruout  the  ages  since.  The  method  by  which  the 
impulse  of  his  personality  has  been  extended  thruout  generations 
shows  largely  how  any  person  who  attempts  to  influence  society 
must  go  to  work. 

We  sometimes  forget  that  people  never  act  except  as  they  are 
influenced  by  their  feelings.  In  consequence,  if  we  are  to  discuss 
the  causes  of  any  great  social  movement,  such  as  the  introduction  of 
Christianity,  it  is  essential  that  we  study  somewhat  carefully  the 
primary  human  motives. 

The  various  motives  from  which  men  act  are,  of  course,  almost 
numberless,  and  most  of  our  actions  are  influenced  not  by  one  simple 
motive,  but  by  a  complexity  of  different  motives.  There  are,  how- 
ever, a  few  motives  so  nearly  universal  that  we  should  note  their 
characteristics,  so  as  to  see  in  what  way  the  teachings  of  Jesus 
worked  upon  them,  and  by  what  means  he  brought  about  a  social 
revolution. 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Third  Day  :  iHcntal  anU  iloral  ^fnertia 

"Custom  calls  me  to't." — Shakespeare. 

Proverbs  i,  22;  vi,  6-1 1;  xviii,  9. 

Matthew  xxv,  15,  24-36. 

GiDDiNGS :   Elements  of  Sociology,  X,  XIV,  XV. 

Ward:   Outlines  of  Sociology,  VII. 

Jenks  :    Citizenship  and  the  Schools,  I,  II. 


SOCIETY    AND    SOCIAL    FORCES  7 

Third  Day  :  i^lcntal  anK  fSlaxnl  ^ntxtm 

Economists  have  long  taught  that  the  natural  desire  to  spare  our 
energies  is  one  of  the  most  important  factors  in  business  life.  A 
somewhat  deeper  study  will  show  that  this  same  inclination  is  also 
profoundly  felt  in  the  fields  of  politics,  of  social  life,  and  of  religion. 

In  business,  each  man  ordinarily  follows  the  customs  of  the  day, 
with  little  effort  to  make  improvements.  In  politics,  men  are  usually, 
too  lazy  or  too  indifferent  to  do  their  own  pohtical  thinking;  thejy 
drift  into  a  party  in  childhood,  and  remain  there  regardless  of  shift- 
ing of  principles  or  changes  of  leadership. 

Likewise  in  religion,  altho  each  one  of  us  probably  feels  that  he 
has  joined  the  church  of  his  choice,  a  thoughtful  examination  will 
show  that,  as  we  have  drifted  into  our  ways  of  doing  business,  and 
into  our  political  party,  so  we  have  drifted  with  comparatively  little 
thought  or  original  expenditure  of  energy  into  the  church  of  our 
families.  Probably,  too,  thru  our  unwillingness  to  think  out  the 
meaning  of  our  forms  of  worship,  i.  e.,  thru  our  moral  and  spiritual 
inertia,  we  are  failing  to  secure  much  of  the  richness  of  religious 
experience  that  is  our  due.  Like  the  generations  that  have  gone 
before  us,  we  have  adopted  other  people's  phraseology  and  habits 
of  thinking,  and  are  satisfying  ourselves  on  the  husks  of  ceremo- 
nial religion  instead  of  on  the  life-giving  principles  of  Christianity. 

Yet  we  must  not  fail  to  recognize  the  good  side  of  this  mental 
and  moral  inertia.  It  is  the  great  force  in  society  which  enables  the 
thinkers,  statesmen,  and  reformers  to  cotmt  with  certainty  upon 
the  actions  of  the  mass  of  men  as  uniform.  Furthermore,  it  is  from 
this  mental  inertia  that  we  acquire  habits ;  and  while  a  habit  is  in 
many  cases  a  stumbling  block  to  progress,  it  is  likewise  a  great  saver 
of  energy.  If  we  have  the  wisdom  to  select  the  acts  that  are  bene- 
ficial, and  the  determination  to  create  for  ourselves  the  habit  of 
wise  action  in  any  direction,  much  energy  will  be  saved  to  increase 
our  powers  for  good. 

As  it  is  today,  so  it  was  in  the  times  of  Jesus.  The  usages  of 
the  Jewish  laws  were  fixed  so  rigidly  that  the  ordinary  person  could 
not  think  outside  of  those  customs,  and  when  the  great  creative 
power  of  Jesus  attempted  to  put  the  Spirit  of  the  Father  into  the 
ceremonial  customs  of  the  priests,  he  was  met  by  the  prejudices 
that  finally  cost  him  his  life.  And  j^et  by  his  renewed  efforts,  by  his 
appeal  to  higher  motives,  by  the  power  within  him,  he  has  in  a 
marked  degree  at  length  overcome  this  force  of  religious  inertia, 
and  has  been  able  to  bring  about  in  the  course  of  centuries  a  re- 
ligious revolution. 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Fourth  Day  :  C()e  JHnttbc  of  ^cIMntcrcst 

"Tous  les  hommes  recherchent  d'etre  heureux ;  cela  est  sans  excep- 
tion. Quelques  differents  moyens  qu'ils  y  emploient,  ils  tendent  tout, 
a  ce  bout." — Pascal. 

Mark  vii,  21,  22, 

2  Peter  ii,  14. 

Ward:    Outlines  of  Sociology,  Chapter  VII. 

Peabody  :   Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question,  Chapter  VI. 

Spencer  :  Principles  of  Sociology,  Part  I,  VI  and  VII. 

Jenks  :   Citizenship  and  the  Schools,  I,  II. 


SOCIETY   'AND   SOCIAL   FORCES  9 

Fourth  Day  :  Ciri)e  fSlamt  of  ^cIMntcrcet 

Next,  perhaps,  in  influence  to  mental  and  moral  inertia  is  the 
motive  of  self-interest.  This  motive,  of  course,  has  many  manifesta- 
tions, and  the  writers  of  sociology  have  enumerated  various  lead- 
ing forms  in  which  it  appears :  the  desire  for  sustenance,  for 
shelter  and  clothing,  the  desire  for  power  over  others,  the  desire 
for  the  gratification  of  our  intellectual  or  of  our  artistic  natures, 
and  the  numberless  other  ways  in  which  each  of  us  tries  to  satisfy 
his  longings  for  something  which  he  has  not  yet  attained.  In  the 
earlier  stages  of  society,  the  desire  for  sustenance  overrules  all  oth- 
ers ;  but  as  man  acquires  more  and  more  control  over  the  forces  of 
nature,  the  need  for  mere  sustenance  is  so  easily  met  that  the  desire 
for  wealth  and  for  the  possession  of  artistic  treasures,  and  many 
other  forms  of  selfish  gratification,  have  taken  its  place. 

In  Jesus'  day,  conditions  of  living  were  vastly  different,  but  hu- 
man motives  were  largely  the  same  as  now.  Jesus,  doubtless,  lived 
in  a  mud  or  plaster  hut,  probably  slept  on  the  roof  or  on  the  floor, 
ate  porridge  from  a  common  dish  with  other  members  of  the  fam- 
ily, and  knew  the  keenness  of  desire  for  many  things  which  we 
should  consider  necessities  of  life ;  but  he  also  saw  clearly  the 
overwhelming  power  which,  thru  the  opportunity  it  offers  for  the 
gratification  of  selfish  desires,  wealth  secures  over  the  rich.  From 
the  lack  of  the  necessity  for  denying  themselves  any  of  the  ordinary 
things  of  life,  they  are  often  so  warped  in  their  natures  that  they 
find  it  difficult,  even  almost  impossible,  to  adopt  the  altruistic  spirit 
of  self-sacrifice  which  is  demanded  from  every  one  who  will  render 
true  service  to  his  fellows. 


JO  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Fifth  Day  :  JScIiffious  Slepiratton 

"Oh  that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  him !     That  I  might  come 
even  to  his  seat!" — Job  xxiii,  3. 
"I  am  athirst  for  God,  the  living  God." — Jean  Ingelow. 

Psalm  xlii. 

Spencer:   Principles  of  Sociology,  Part  I,  Chapters  XIV,  XV,  XVI, 

XXIV,  XXV. 
HiLLis:  Influence  0/ C/irisi  in  Modern  Life,  Chapter  IX. 


SOCIETY    AND    SOCIAL    FORCES  il 

Fifth  Day  :  EcUsiaufi  Slfipiration 

Passing  by  many  other  motives  which  exercise  a  profound  influ- 
ence on  society,  we  may  consider  briefly  that  of  religious  aspiration. 
This  sentiment,  coming  from  the  sense  that  we  are  surrounded  by 
forces  of  nature  which  seem  beyond  our  control,  from  the  conscious- 
ness of  our  physical  weakness,  and  from  the  knowledge  that  even 
our  mental  and  moral  natures  are  subject  to  overthrow,  is  probably 
universal ;  it  may  be  counted  upon  by  all  those  who  wish  to  improve 
society.  Among  the  most  savage  people  we  often  find  this  sentiment 
in  the  form  of  a  desire  to  ward  oft"  the  influence  of  evil  spirits ;  the 
same  motive,  in  differing  forms  of  superstition,  is  found  likewise  in 
the  highest  stages  of  civilization ;  but  it  is  also  a  longing  for  fellow- 
ship with  the  Divine  which  has  been  the  characteristic  of  the  highest 
and  noblest  lives. 

In  many  instances,  individuals  who  seem  to  care  very  little  for 
the  religions  of  the  day  still  feel  themselves,  especially  in  times 
of  danger,  reaching  out  beyond  any  power  that  they  can  physically 
touch  or  know,  to  obtain  help,  if  possible,  from  a  Being  whom  they 
believe  or  feel  to  be  supreme  and  divine.  We  should  keep  in  mind 
the  fact  that  the  human  conception  of  this  Being,  whose  little  under- 
stood nature  and  power  have  led  people  to  worship  even  the  "un- 
known God,"  but  who  is  believed  to  control  nature  and  society, 
differs  with  each  shifting  phase  of  civilization. 

Among  Christian  peoples  since  the  days  when  Jesus  revealed  him 
as  he  is,  God  has  been  held  to  be  an  all-wise,  loving  father.  Each 
man's  God  is,  in  fact,  represented  by  his  ideal  of  goodness  and  power. 
Counting  upon  this  motive  of  religious  aspiration,  Jesus,  thru  his 
participation  in  the  nature  of  the  divine  and  of  the  human,  was  able 
to  secure  and  to  teach  a  higher,  clearer  conception  of  goodness 
and  power,  and  hence  of  the  nature  of  God,  than  had  been  given 
men  before.  The  molding  force  of  this  God-ideal  upon  a  humanity 
longing  for  a  deeper  knowledge  of  things  divine  was  what  Jesus 
counted  upon  to  bring  about  on  earth  his  kingdom  of  heaven. 


la  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Sixth  Day  :  ©roup  Cl)aracteri6ti« 

"To  understand  man,  however,  we  must  look  beyond  the  indi- 
vidual man  and  his  actions  or  interests,  and  view  him  in  combina- 
tion with  his  fellows." — Carlyle. 

"A  large  part  of  all  the  social  action  in  which  many  individuals 
take  a  concerted  part  is  impulsive  rather  than  deliberate ;  and,  there- 
fore, many  of  the  dramatic  events  of  history  have  been  impulsive 
social  actions." — Giddings. 

Spencer  :   Principles  of  Sociology,  Part  II,  Chapters  II,  III  and  XI. 
Ward:    Outlines  of  Sociology,  Chapter  VIII. 
Giddings  :   Elements  of  Sociology,  Chapters  XII,  XIII. 


SOCIETY    AND    SOCIAL    FORCES  13 

Sixth  Day  :  (Sroup  C^aractcriutiw 

Heretofore,  we  have  spoken  of  the  motives  and  characteristics  of 
individuals  in  society.  In  speaking  of  the  material  on  which  Jesus 
worked,  we  must  recognize  the  further  fact  that  very  frequently 
men  in  association  as  groups  or  societies  or  nations  act  in  ways 
quite  different  from  those  of  individuals.  In  some,  class  interests 
dominate,  and  the  individual  sacrifices  his  personality  and  his  own 
gain  for  the  sake  of  others  of  his  type;  in  other  cases  the  motive 
of  patriotism,  which  seems  often  to  be  the  abnegation  of  selfish- 
ness and  the  embodiment  of  the  purest  self-sacrifice,  is  the  dominant 
motive,  the  individual  identifying  himself  with  his  state,  so  that  he 
seems  to  wish  no  separate  existence. 

Again  at  times  it  seems  possible  for  a  sentiment  or  a  motive  to  go 
not  slowly  from  man  to  man  by  the  power  of  individual  suggestion, 
but  to  sweep  thru  a  whole  society  by  a  contagious  power  of  sym- 
pathy, so  that  a  revolution  that  might  otherwise  cover  decades  is 
accomplished  in  a  day. 

Keeping  in  mind,  then,  these  various  influences  and  motives  and 
forces  by  which  societies  live  and  work,  we  can  study  to  advan- 
tage the  way  in  which  they  were  employed  by  Jesus  when  he  took 
up  his  life-work,  given  him  by  the  Father — the  regeneration  of  the 
world. 


14  SOCIAL   TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Seventh  Day:  EcbwtD 

1.  With  reference  to  the  complexity  of  society,  and  the  inter- 
dependence of  human  beings,  think  out  the  number  of  persons  in 
this  country  and  elsewhere  who  have  been  employed,  directly  and 
indirectly,  in  furnishing  you  with  the  clothes  you  are  wearing  and 
the  food  you  consume  in  a  single  day. 

2.  In  reformatories  criminals  are  compelled  to  adopt  regular  meth- 
ods of  living.  Can  a  regular  way  of  living  repeated  from  day  to 
day  under  compulsion  become  a  habit,  or  must  a  habit  come  from 
voluntary  acts? 

3.  May  I  give  food  or  money  to  a  beggar  from  selfish  motives? 
Under  what  circumstances? 

4.  Is  it  possible  for  any  of  us  to  have  a  normal  development  out- 
side of  society? 

5.  Does  the  social  force  of  inertia  strengthen  or  weaken  the  power 
of  the  political  "boss"? 

6.  The  Salvation  Army  is  accustomed  to  keep  its  converts  for  a 
year  or  two  after  conversion  under  the  direct  influence  of  the  army 
officers.  Why  is  this  necessary?  Does  such  a  custom  imply  doubt 
as  to  the  sincerity  of  the  conversion? 

7.  In  Dahomey,  it  was  customary  on  the  death  of  a  king  for  hun- 
dreds of  his  wives  and  servants  voluntarily  to  sacrifice  themselves 
on  his  funeral  pyre.  Was  this  act  done  thru  the  power  of  religious 
aspiration  ? 

8.  If  persons  not  Christians  adopt  the  tenets  of  the  Christian 
faith  from  fear  of  future  punishment,  is  this  selfish  motive  to  be 
commended  ?  Will  fear  for  self  be  as  effective  in  elevating  the  moral 
and  religious  character  of  the  convert  as  reverence  and  love?  Does 
the  former  ever  lead  to  the  latter  and  the  higher? 


STUDY  II 

Jesus'  Preparation  for  His  Work 

"And  Jesus  advanced  in  wisdom  and  stature,  and  in  favor  with 

God  and  men." — Luke  ii,  52. 

"Believest  thou  not  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in 
me?  the  words  that  I  say  unto  you  I  speak  not  from  myself:  but 
the  Father  abiding  in  me  doeth  his  works." — John  xiv,  10. 


i6  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


First  Day  :  ^ia  ^urrottttljinfffii 

"Nazareth  est  un  delicieux  sejour,  le  seul  endroit  peut-etre  de 
la  Palestine  ou  I'ame  se  sente  un  peu  soulagee  du  fardeau  qui  I'op- 
presse  au  milieu  de  cette  desolation  sans  egale.  .  .  .  Tel  fut 
1 'horizon  de  Jesus.  Ce  cercle  enchante,  berceau  du  royaume  de 
Dieu,  lui  representa  le  monde  durant  des  annees." — Renan. 

Matthew  iii,  i-6. 

Mark  ii,  1-5 ;  vi,  2 ;  xii,  i,  2. 

Mathews  :    History  of  New  Testament  Times  in  Palestine, 

Stalker  :  Life  of  Jesus  Christ,  Chapter  II. 

Rhees  :    Life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Part  I,  Chapter  I. 

Edersheim  :  The  Life  and  Times  of  Jesus  the  Messiah,  Book  I,  and 

Book  II,  Chapter  IX. 
Sanday:   Outlines  of  the  Life  of  Christ,  Chapter  II. 


PREPARATION   FOR    HIS    WORK  1? 

First  Day  :  |)i£(  S)ttrtauntiing:s 

In  briefly  sketching  the  conditions  surrounding  Jesus  in  his  youth 
and  during  his  preparation  for  his  work,  it  is  as  a  man  that  we 
shall  consider  him.  For  the  sake  of  our  study  we  assume  that  his 
character  developed  in  the  normal  human  way  into  the  divine 
purity  and  strength  of  his  perfect  manhood,  while  we  bear  in  mind, 
of  course,  as  we  have  already  said,  his  own  conviction  concerning 
the  contribution  to  this  development  which  was  received  from  his 
communion  with  the  Divine  Father,  as  manifested  at  Various  times 
in  prayer  (Luke  xi,  John  xvii).  It  is  only  thus  that  the  study 
of  his  preparation  will  be  primarily  helpful  to  us  as  students  of 
social  principles  seeking  for  help  ii-  our  life-work. 

Jesus  lived  at  a  time  of  political  and  religious  unrest,  and  his 
home  was  among  a  people  near  the  outskirts  of  Judaism.  Subject 
to  Roman  rule,  the  Hebrew  race  in  its  various  sects,  Sadducees, 
Pharisees,  Essenes,  Zealots,  represented  different  degrees  of  political 
disaffection  and  bitterly  different  interpretations  of  the  old  religion. 
The  blind  intolerance  of  Judaism,  concentrated  and  virulent  about 
Jerusalem,  was,  in  Galilee,  softened  by  a  mingling  of  Gentile  popu- 
lation ;  and  far  from  the  center  of  dogmatism,  the  religious  influences 
were  less  formal  and  more  spiritual.  The  Galileans  were  no  pedants, 
but  were  simply,  fervently,  imaginatively  religious.  Angels  and 
devils  and  good  and  evil  spirits  were,  for  them,  everywhere.  Life 
had  many  a  wonder  and  a  mystery. 

In  marked  contrast  to  barren  Judea  was  the  hill  country  of 
Galilee.  The  village  of  Nazareth  lay  in  the  valley  of  the  mountains 
of  Zebulon,  on  the  great  highway  leading  outward  into  the  Greek 
and  Roman  world,  as  well  as  to  the  civilizations  of  Babylon  and 
Persia.  Its  small  mud  or  plaster  houses,  windowless,  roofed  with 
thatch  or  husks,  and  built  on  narrow,  crooked,  hillside  streets,  were 
saved  from  ugliness  by  a  profusion  of  vines  and  overshadowing 
fig  trees  and  by  a  luxuriant  surrounding  growth  of  olives,  pome- 
granates, orange  groves  and  blossoming  cactus  hedges.  Back  from 
the  village  in  all  directions  stretched  plains  and  mountains  old  in 
Jewish  story,  whose  very  names — Carmel,  Megiddo,  Hermon,  Es- 
draelon — were  redolent  of  sacred  tradition ;  while  seen  from  the 
upper  hillsides,  twenty  miles  to  the  westward,  but  in  clear  view,  lay 
the  blue  Mediterranean.  Life  in  the  village  was  simple;  but  nature 
was  gracious,  and  serenely  beautiful. 


i8  SOCIAL   TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Second  Day  :  |)tg  Craininff 

"And  he  went  down  with  them,  and  came  to  Nazareth ;  and  was 
subject  unto  them." — Luke  ii,  51. 

"And  when  he  was  come  into  his  own  country,  he  taught  them 
in  their  synagogue,  insomuch  that  they  were  astonished,  and  said, 
Whence  hath  this  man  this  wisdom,  and  these  mighty  works?  Is 
not  this  the  carpenter's  son?" — Matthew  xiii,  54,  55. 

"I  came  forth  from  the  Father,  and  am  come  into  the  world." — 
John  xvi,  28. 

Luke  ii,  40-52 ;  iv,  16-30. 

Mark  vi,  1-6. 

Rhees  :  Life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Part  I,   Chapter  V. 

Gilbert:   Student's  Life  of  Jesus,  Chapters  III,   IV,  V. 

Stalker  :    Life  of  Jesus  Christ,  Chapter  I. 

Fairbairn:   Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ,  Chapter  III. 


PREPARATION    FOR    HIS    WORK  19 

Second  Day  :  |)t6  Craintnji 

Jesus'  birth  was  humble,  from  the  point  of  view  of  his  day;  his 
home  life  simple,  frugal  and  wholesome.  In  the  village  circles, 
where  there  were  probably  slight  differences  in  rank  or  wealth,  his 
parentage  and  his  trade  were  doubtless  held  in  considerable  respect. 
His  parents  w^ere  pious  Jews,  and  in  the  home  he  must  have  re- 
ceived the  rudiments  of  his  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures.  Jesus 
was  apparently  the  eldest  in  a  large  family.  After  the  death  of 
his  father,  which  is  supposed  to  have  been  not  long  after  Jesus' 
first  visit  to  Jerusalem,  since  Joseph  does  not  again  appear  in  the 
Gospels,  he  was  probably  its  main  support.  The  social  life  of  a 
large  family  and  the  early  responsibility  for  its  care  must  have 
exercised  large  influence  in  humanizing  his  attitude  toward  the 
world  and  in  emphasizing  the  thoughtful  seriousness  of  his  char- 
acter. 

The  life  of  the  village,  too,  clustering  about  the  wells,  the  shops, 
and  the  synagogue,  was  a  rich  source  of  social  training.  While 
its  range  was  narrower  than  that  of  a  city,  it  possibly  brought  the 
chance  for  deeper  insight  into  character,  for  here  intercourse  was 
more  intimate  and  personal.  And  thru  the  varied  Oriental  and 
Roman  life  passing  along  the  great  highway  from  the  Far  East 
to  the  Capital  of  the  West,  he  was  not  without  a  glimpse  into  the 
external  world. 

His  religious  training,  begun  in  the  home,  was  doubtless  con- 
tinued under  the  tutelage  of  the  "reader,"  and  in  the  services  and 
discussions  of  the  synagogue.  As  a  Pharisee  he  was  trained  to 
think  of  the  spiritualization  of  form,  and  as  a  Galilean  his  religiousi 
impulses  were  imaginative  and  spiritual.  He  was  apparently  not 
trained  in  the  schools  of  the  great  teachers.  Unlearned  in  the 
subtleties  of  the  law,  the  pride  of  the  Jerusalem  pedant,  his  training, 
religious  and  social,  led  him  to  seek  the  meaning  of  life :  and  for 
that  search  the  Scriptures  were  an  inspiration ;  his  social  life  and 
duties  kept  his  attitude  sane  and  human ;  and  the  intervals  of 
undisturbed  thought  in  the  open  fields  and  on  the  quiet  mountain- 
sides, and  his  habit  of  prayer,  brought  him  a  knowledge  of  his  own 
heart  and  an  insight  into  the  heart  of  God.  Thruout  his  life  this 
intimate  oneness  with  the  Father  is  seen  in  his  frequent  communion 
with  him,  in  his  certainty  of  the  Father's  will,  in  his  teaching  the 
true  spirit  of  prayer  to  his  disciples,  in  the  positiveness  with  which 
he  spoke  and  taught.  "He  spoke  as  one  having  authority  and  not 
as  the  scribes." 


20  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Third  Day  :  ^tfi  C^iararter 

"I  am  the  light  of  the  world." — John  viii,  12. 

"But  far  more  potent  than  his  word  is  his  wonderful  personality. 
It  cannot  be  defined;  names  and  titles  utterly  fail  to  do  justice  to  it. 
The  subtle  influence  cannot  be  explained ;  it  can  only  be  felt.  The 
hearts  of  men  burn  within  them,  when  he  talks  with  them  in  the 
road.  When  he  breaks  to  them  the  bread  of  life,  their  eyes  are 
opened ;  and  though  he  vanishes  from  their  sight,  they  can  never 
forget  him.  To  have  once  come  under  his  spell,  is  to  be  his  forever. 
To  know  him  is  to  love  him." — Schmidt. 

Matthew  ix,  36;  xxii,  15-46. 

Mark  ii,  23-28. 

Luke  iv,  16-30;  xi,  37-41. 

Rhees:   Life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Part  III. 

Stalker  :   Life  of  Jesus  Christ,  pages  128-139. 

HiLLis :    Influences  of  Christ  in  Modern  Life,  Chapter  IV. 

Peabody  :  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  Chapter  II. 


PREPARATION    FOR    HIS    WORK  21 

Third  Day  :  j^ia  Character 

However  we  may  consider  his  surroundings  and  his  early  train- 
ing to  have  influenced  Jesus'  mission,  those  influences  were  of  little 
moment  compared  with  the  strength  and  individuality  of  his  own 
character.  Many  a  soul  makes  small  response  to  the  grandeur  of 
lofty  mountains  or  to  the  simple  beauty  of  familiar  life.  Jesus  looked 
upon  nature  and  humanity  with  observant  eyes  and  with  deep  spir- 
itual insight. 

His  knowledge  of  the  human  heart  was  a  source  of  power.  He 
felt  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  others ;  he  understood  their  weaknes'ses 
and  their  capacities  for  good.  He  was  full  of  sympathy  and  the 
desire  for  service.  Yet  this  tender  consideration  for  others  har- 
bored not  the  shadow  of  weakness.  His  personality,  gracious, 
winning,  and,  to  those  able  to  understand  him,  irresistibly  attractive, 
was  capable  of  flaming  into  vehement  denunciation  of  those  who, 
as  hypocrites,  were  misleading  others,  or  who,  from  selfishness, 
turned  their  eyes  away  from  the  light  that  he  felt  to  have  been 
given  him  in  a  supreme  degree. 

Jesus  was  sure  of  himself.  He  felt,  he  knew,  that  his  spiritual 
insight  had  pierced  to  the  heart  of  life,  and  that  he  was  at  one 
with  God.  To  the  assertiveness  of  an  intellectually  dominant  race, 
such  as  the  Hebrew  has  ever  been,  Jesus  added  the  tremendous 
self-confidence  of  his  own  personality.  Having  studied  the  highest 
teaching  of  the  prophets  and  knowing  his  own  deeper  and  truer 
conceptions  of  the  divine  and  of  man's  relations  with  God,  feeling 
himself  right,  at  one  with  the  Father,  and  seeing  with  clear  vision 
God's  purposes  for  the  development  of  man,  he  felt  no  hesitancy, 
no  self-distrust.  His  self-confidence  became  so  perfect  that  it  was 
never  a  matter  of  obtrusive  self-consciousness.  His  mission  was 
his  life.  Men  saw  the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus,  but  they  felt  also  his 
colossal  strength,  and  therein  the  reason  for  his  self-trust.  They 
naturally  felt  him  superhuman,  and  in  his  divine  strength  they 
found  him  trustworthy.  Jesus  was  a  light  to  men  because  in 
his  character  lies  all  that  appeals  to  humanity  in  its  noblest  moods. 
as  purest,  strongest,  best — as  most  divine.  He  fills  men's  highest 
conception  of  goodness,  purity,  power.  He  is  thus  in  his  character 
the  full  explanation,  the  revelation  of  God. 


22  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Fourth  Day  :  ST^fittB  anK  t\)e  fSizem\)6Uv 

"There  was  the  true  light,  even  the  light   which  lighteth  every 
man,  coming  into  the  world." — John  i,  9. 

Matthew  iii,  15-17. 
Luke  ii,  49. 

John  ii,  16;  viii,  16;  x,  15,  38. 

Sanday:    Outlines  of  the  Life  of  Christ,  pages  25-29. 
Rhees:    Life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Part  I,  Chapter  VII, 
Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  Chapter  IV. 
Mathews  :    The  Messianic  Hope  in  the  New  Testament,  Part  II, 
Chapters  IV,  V,  VI. 


PREPARATION    FOR    HIS    WORK  23 

Fourth  Day  :  %tiiu6  anU  tl)c  ;Pi:e6£ita()fiI)tp 

The  Psalms  and  the  Prophets,  with  their  lyric  depth  of  feeling, 
and  their  golden  imaginings  of  a  glorious  future  for  the  race,  were 
familiar  to  Jesus.  By  the  rumors  of  near  salvation  for  his  people 
thru  certain  enthusiasts  who  had  claimed  messiahship,  his  inter- 
est must  have  been  deeply  stirred.  As  he  read  and  as  he  sought 
to  understand  the  real  character  of  a  leader  who  should  save  his 
people  and  inaugurate  a  more  exalted  life  for  men,  and  as,  with 
his  keen  insight  into  the  deepest  springs  of  human  action,  he  pon- 
dered the  lives  and  characters  of  those  who  had  proved  false 
prophets,  he  must  have  come  to  an  understanding  of  the  causes 
of  their  failure.  They  had  not  spiritual  insight  into  truth ;  they 
did  not  recognize  real  greatness  in  human  service;  they  were  not 
themselves  without  weakness  and  sin. 

And  in  the  steady  work  of  the  shop,  or  in  quiet  hours  on  the 
mountain-side,  a  grander,  more  spiritual  meaning  of  ancient  visions 
and  prophesyings  doubtless  came  to  him.  As  a  lad,  probably,  Jesus, 
with  simple  directness,  had  come  to  think  of  God  as  Father  (an 
illuminating  commentary  upon  the  character  of  his  earthly  father) 
and  of  his  relation  to  him;  and  the  name  on  Jesus'  lips  was  sig- 
nificant of  all  strength  and  wisdom  and  righteousness  and  loving 
kindness.  To  him  this  was  the  natural  conception ;  but,  loving  the 
Father  and  feeling  himself  loved  in  return  as  he  saw  no  one  else 
felt,  he  recognized  its  height  and  depth  beyond  the  conception  of 
any  other  seer  or  prophet.  He  recognized  within  himself  the  spirit 
of  purity  and  goodness  and  loving  kindness  that  made  him  one 
in  heart  with  God.  And,  the  necessity  for  the  first  service  ended, 
he  laid  aside  his  tools  in  the  village  shop  and  went  to  call  all  men 
to  be  his  brothers,  and  children  of  his  Father.  Thus  only  could  he 
save  his  people. 


24  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS. 


Fifth  Day  :  '^oWfi  H^vtntbmz  an!  t\\t  ^aqptism 

"He  that  cometh  after  me  is  mightier  than  I,  whose  shoes  I  am 
not  worthy  to  bear." — Matthew  iii,  ii. 

Matthew  iii,  1-17;  xi,  2-15. 
Mark  i,  i-ii. 
Luke  iii,  1-21. 
John  i,  6-36. 

Harnack  :    What  is  Christianity?  Lecture  IIL 
Sanday  :    Outlines  of  the  Life  of  Christ,  pages  34-42. 
Stalker:   Life  of  Jesus  Christ,  Chapter  III. 
Rhees  :  Life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Part  I,  Chapters  VI,  VII. 
Fairbairn  :   Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ,  Chapter  IV. 
Mathews  :   Messianic  Hope  in  the  New  Testament,  Part  II,  Chap- 
ter II. 


PREPARATION    FOR    HIS    WORK  25 

Fifth  Day  :  ^^oJ^n'B  prcac^inff  anti  tlft  baptism 

Shortly  before  the  time  of  Christ,  the  appearance  of  several  en- 
thusiasts, stirred  by  the  political  subjection  of  the  nation  and  the  low 
ebb  of  its  religious  life,  had  quickened  the  messianic  hope  thru- 
out  Palestine.  These  men  had  dreamed  of  political  restoration,  and 
they  had  proved  false  prophets. 

The  hope  of  the  Messiah  had  stirred  the  heart  of  John,  but  his 
earnest  eyes  saw  deeper  needs  than  the  political  ones.  Like  Jesus, 
he  recognized  that  it  was  a  moral,  a  spiritual  regeneration  that  must 
come;  like  Jesus,  too,  he  saw  that  the  forces  most  opposed  to  spir- 
itual regeneration  were  in  the  very  citadel  of  formal  religion.  John 
felt  that  the  Messiah  must  be  a  spiritual  leader,  and  that  admittance 
into  his  kingdom  would  be  conditioned  upon  entrance  into  a  genu- 
ine and  better  spiritual  life. 

And  there  John's  vision  ended — ended  in  no  small-souled  satis- 
faction with  a  half  sight  of  truth,  but  with  sad  and  humble  acknowl- 
edgment of  its  inadequacy  and  an  eager  desire  for  further  light. 
John,  in  his  lonely  desert  and  his  somber  thought,  had  seen  the 
beginnings.  Jesus,  with  deeper  vision,  came  from  his  life  of  service 
to  confirm  John's  thought  and  carry  it  infinitely  further.  As  the 
two  talked  together,  each  exalted  by  an  eager  desire  to  uplift  hu- 
manity, John  must  have  recognized  the  deeper  truth  that  he  had 
not  been  able  to  fathom,  and  must  have  seen  in  Jesus  that  majesty 
and  gfuileless  beauty  of  character,  the  appreciation  of  which  reveals 
the  greatness  of  John's  soul.  Jesus  acknowledged  John's  measure 
of  truth,  and  in  token  was  baptized.  John  recognized  Jesus'  diviner 
truth,  and  reverently  bowed  before  it. 


26  SOCIAL   TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Sixth  Day  :  fjlans  for  j^ifi  !&ins;Unm 

"And  he  was  in  the  wilderness  forty  days,  tempted  of  Satan." 
— Mark  i,  13. 

Matthew  iv,  i-ii. 

Mark  i,  12,  13. 

Luke  iv,  1-13. 

Sanday  :    Outlines  of  the  Life  of  Christy  pages  42-45. 

Stalker  :   Life  of  Jesus  Christ,  pages  61-66. 

Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Naaareth,  Chapter  XI,  and  page  262. 

Fairbairn  :   Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ,  Chapter  V. 


PREPARATION    FOR    HIS    WORK  27 

Sixth  Day  :  pians  for  !)t£(  J^inffJom 

His  power  recognized,  at  least  in  part,  by  himself,  and  the 
first  step  in  its  public  acknowledgment  taken  in  his  baptism  by 
John,  Jesus  went  alone  into  the  desert  to  think  out  plans  for  his 
life  and  to  struggle  for  complete  self-mastery.  Was  his  life,  in 
truth,  to  be  one  of  service  in  the  establishment  of  a  better  order 
of  living  for  man?  If  so,  how  was  his  power  to  be  used  in  most 
effective  service?  Three  temptations  to  abandon  his  plans,  or  to 
temporize  in  his  methods,  apparently  suggested  themselves  to  him. 

He  might  use  his  power  in  winning  the  comforts  and  gratifica- 
tions of  life.  With  his  gifts  he  could  easily  succeed.  And,  too, 
must  he  not,  first  of  all,  care  for  his  own  life  and  make  comfortable 
provision  for  its  preservation,  that  he  and  his  insight  into  truth 
might  not  perish  by  untimely  death?  Even  if  he  were  not  to  live 
for  self,  could  he  not  best  serve  others  by  making  them  comfort- 
able physically?  But  Jesus  saw  deeper.  Man  could  not  live  by 
bread  alone.  If  need  be,  not  merely  luxury,  but  even  life  must  be 
sacrificed  that  he  might  be  of  service  in  the  spiritual  uplifting  of 
humanity;  and  his  disciples  must  not  follow  his  teaching  to  secure 
physical  comforts,  loaves  and  fishes. 

Again,  he  might  use  his  power  to  dazzle  the  world.  He  might 
do  works  of  immediately  compelling  genius  and  win  fame.  To  a 
man  of  ability  this  desire  appeals  more  strongly;  and  again,  once 
prominently  before  the  eyes  of  his  people,  he  would  have  large  audi- 
ences for  those  great  truths  that  were  to  regenerate  mankind.  But 
Jesus  saw  deeper.  He  saw  the  selfishness  of  the  method  and  quickly 
recognized  its  superficiality.    Real  service  was  not  so  wrought. 

Last  and  greatest,  came  the  temptation  to  seek  temporal  power 
over  men,  probably  the  most  powerful  desire  of  strong  men  and 
their  utmost  alluring  temptation.  It  is  pleasant  to  rule;  and  could 
not  rulers  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  compel  their  subjects  to 
live  better  lives?  Was  it  not  his  duty  to  seek  power  as  a  most 
effective  means  of  service?  But  Jesus  saw  deeper.  All  real  regen- 
eration must  begin  at  the  bottom  and  work  upward,  and  each  soul 
must  make  its  own  decision  as  to  entrance  into  the  better  life.  Ef- 
fective service  must  seek  the  field  of  the  individual  human  heart  and 
spend  itself  in  willing  sacrifice  to  help  men  help  themselves. 


28  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Seventh  Day:  EetaietD 

1.  Does  natural  scenery  or  a  country's  topography  affect  appre- 
ciably the  character  of  a  people  or  their  political  characteristics? 
If  so,  find  illustrations. 

2.  What  contrast  was  there  between  Galilee  and  Judea  in  external 
characteristics  of  the  country?    In  the  character  of  their  peoples? 

3.  How  may  Jesus'  home  life  and  the  life  of  the  village  have  influ- 
enced his  attitude  toward  men?  Does  city  life  or  country  life  give 
to  able  young  men  the  keener  insight  into  human  nature? 

4.  What  were  the  elements  of  his  religious  training? 

5.  What  were  the  striking  elements  of  Jesus'  character?  What  is 
the  difference  between  egotism  and  supreme  self-confidence  such 
as  that  of  Jesus?  Is  self-confidence  a  necessary  element  in  great- 
ness of  character?  In  what  fields  of  activity  may  a  man  be  great 
without  self-confidence? 

6.  What  was  the  spiritual  relationship  between  John  and  Jesus? 

7.  In  what  different  ways  was  the  nobility  of  John's  soul  shown? 

8.  Did  Jesus  come  to  think  of  himself  as  the  Messiah?  Give  your 
special  reasons  for  your  answer. 

9.  What,  in  your  judgment,  is  the  significance  of  each  of  the  temp- 
tations?   There  are  various  interpretations. 

10.  Could  a  warrior  ever  succeed  as  the  leader  of  a  great  social 
reform?    If  so,  of  what  kind  of  reform? 


STUDY  III 

Jesus'  Conception  of  His  Social  Mission:    Its  Relation  to  the 

State 

"I  am  come  that  they  might  have  life,  and  that  they  might  have  it 
more  abundantly." — John  x,  lo. 


30  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


First  Day  :  ST^Bue  tn  JounH  a  JQeto  feitiffHora 

"And  I  appoint  unto  you  a  kingdom,  even  as  my  Father  appointed 
unto  me." — Luke  xxii,  29. 
"And  of  his  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end." — Luke  i,  33. 

Jeremiah  xxxiii,  15,  16. 

Daniel  ix,  25. 

Matthew  iii,  2,  11,  12;  iv,  17,  23. 

Mark  i,  15 ;  iii,  13-19. 

Luke  iv,  43. 

Sanday:   Outlines  of  the  Life  of  Christ,  pages  76  ff. 

Harnack:    What  is  Christianity?  pages  52-62. 

Fairbairn  :   Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ,   Chapter  VI. 

Mathews:    Social  Teachings  of  Jesus,  Chapter  III. 

Hyde:    From  Epicurus  to  Christ,  Chapter  V. 


CONCEPTION    OF    HIS   SOCIAL   MISSION  31 

First  Day  :  ^taus  to  JFounU  a  jQctD  i^ingUam 

The  Jewish  race  had  looked  forward  to  political  deliverance  and 
aggrandizement  under  an  anointed  one,  a  prince ;  John  the  Baptist 
had  preached  repentance  in  preparation  for  the  coming  of  the  king- 
dom, conceived  of  as  a  stern  judgment  and  a  final  separation  of  the 
good  from  the  evil ;  Jesus  likewise  spoke  of  his  kingdom,  the  king- 
dom of  God,  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  but  with  a  new,  greater  and 
deeper  significance.  The  Messiah  of  the  Hebrews  was  to  renew 
the  glories  of  David  and  Solomon ;  Jesus'  conception  was  of  a  king- 
dom whose  glories  were  to  be  of  another  and  far  higher  order. 

Jesus,  with  an  insight  into  God's  nature  and  purposes  which 
became  a  new  revelation  of  God  to  men,  could  not  and  would  not 
use  his  powers  in  the  founding  of  a  kingdom  which  should  be  for 
his  own  earthly  glorification.  His  work  was  to  be  the  redemption 
of  the  world.  His  kingdom  must  go  deeper  than  mere  political 
form ;  it  must  put  a  new  soul  into  society.  His  was  a  conception 
of  a  power  and  glory  that,  coming  from  Jewish  sources,  thru  a 
kingdom  more  subtly  powerful  and  more  exalted  than  those  dreamed 
of  by  any  of  his  predecessors  or  compatriots,  should  come  in  time 
to  rule  the  whole  world.  We  must  enter  into  an  understanding  of 
the  nature  of  this  kingdom. 


32  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Second  Day  :  Sri)e  iBlature  of  t|)e  fein5li0m:  ^ts  Canstitution 

"Recollect  that  you  were  born  for  the  duties  of  society." — Marcus 
Aurelius. 

Matthew  v;  vi;  vii;  xiii,  44-48. 

Mark  xii,  28-31. 

Luke  vi,  20-49. 

Fairbairn  :   Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ,  Chapter  VI. 

Sanday  :    Outlines  of  the  Life  of  Christ,  pages  50  ff, 

Mathews  :    The  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapter  III. 

Harnack  :    What  is  Christianity  f  pages  52-62. 

Hyde  :    From  Epicurus  to  Christ,  Chapter  V. 

Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  pages  296  ff. 


CONCEPTION    OF    HIS    SOCIAL    MISSION  32 

Second  Day  :   CI)e  Bature  of  t^t  feinffiom:  ^te  CanBtitution 

This  kingdom  that  was  to  rule  the  world  Jesus  usually  spoke  of, 
not  as  a  life  to  come,  but  as  a  way  of  living  in  this  life;  not  as 
a  new  state  founded  by  the  violence  of  revolution  and  civil  war, 
but  as  a  spiritualizing  and  ennobling  force  within  the  souls  of  in- 
dividuals, a  force  that  should  gradually,  thru  the  bettering,  the 
perfecting  of  individuals,   result  in   a   regenerated   social   order. 

Jesus'  spiritual  kingdom,  like  every  government,  had  its  funda- 
mental principles ;  and  basic  among  these  was  the  Fatherhood  of 
God.  God  was  the  just  and  all-powerful  judge;  but  he  was  also 
much  more — he  was  the  loving  father  whose  sternness  was  but  the 
result  of  his  desire  for  the  good  of  his  children,  and  whose  deepest 
joy  was  in  their  true  welfare. 

As  God  was  the  father  of  all,  all  men  thereby  were  brothers; 
and  the  responsibility  to  God,  the  Father,  entailed  a  responsibility 
toward  all  the  Father's  sons,  toward  society.  Thus  the  significance 
of  Jesus'  great  teaching  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  Brother- 
hood of  Man  was  a  new  emphasis  upon  the  social  relationships,  a 
clearer  and  firmer  note  of  social  duty  than  had  ever  before  been 
sounded.    Such  was  the  nature  of  the  kingdom. 


34  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Third  Day  :  StUmiSfiion  to  Citi^ensljip  in  t|)e  i^inffSom 

"The  fear  of  Jehovah  is  the  beginning  of  knowledge." — Proverbs 
I  7- 

"I  am  the  way,  and  the  truth,  and  the  life:  no  man  cometh  unto 
the  Father,  but  by  me." — John  xiv,  6. 

"  'To  him  who  wears  the  cross,'  he  said, 
'The  first  great  law  is — To  Obey !'  " 

— Schiller. 

Matthew  v,  3-12,  20,  48;  vi,  33;  vii,  i,  2,  7-12,  21;  xiii,  23. 

John  iii,  1-13 ;  xiv,  6. 

Sanday  :    Outlines  of  the  Life  of  Christ,  pages  85,  86. 

Harnack  :    What  is  Christianity?  pages  70-78. 

Peabody  :   festts  Christ  ajid  the  Christian  Character,  Chapter  III. 

Hyde  :    From  Epicurus  to  Christy  Chapter  V. 


CONCEPTION    OF    HIS   SOCIAL    MISSION  35 

Third  Day  :  SHimifision  to  Citt^cnsljip  in  tl)e  EinffBom 

To  citizenship  in  Jesus'  kingdom  were  to  be  admitted  only  those 
who  recognized  their  responsibilitj'  toward  God  and  toward  man, 
for  the  betterment  of  life  and  thus  for  the  regeneration  of  the  world. 
Into  a  civil  state  one  is  born ;  but  entrance  into  Jesus'  kingdom 
must  be  voluntary,  an  open-eyed  choice  of  the  better  way. 

And  Jesus  proclaimed  himself  to  be  the  way.  To  be  admitted 
a  citizen  of  his  kingdom  one  must  recognize  his  teaching  as  a  pro- 
found insight  into  and  a  revelation  of  the  spirit  of  God,  and  must 
take  Jesus'  character  as  the  ideal  of  beauty,  truth  and  righteous- 
ness. 

Conversion  (by  derivation,  a  turning  about,  conversio)  means 
the  conscious  change  of  purpose  from  that  of  seeking  the  gratifica- 
tion of  one's  own  selfish  desires  to  that  of  doing  the  will  of  the 
Father  as  shown  by  Jesus — or  of  devoting  one's  self  deliberately 
to  the  service  of  others.  Of  course,  this  fundamental  change  of 
purpose  implies  repentance,  i.  e.,  the  recognition  of  the  evil  of  the 
former  course  and  the  "life-giving  change  of  the  inner  man" ;  but 
the  essence  of  conversion  is  the  surrender  to  God's  will,  as 
shown  by  belief,  purpose,  act.  The  surrender  brings,  of  course,  the 
joy  of  citizenship  in  the  kingdom  when  the  happiness  of  the  new 
life  becomes  manifest.  "Put  away  the  evil  of  your  doings  from 
before  mine  eyes;  cease  to  do  evil;  learn  to  do  well;  seek  judgment, 
relieve  the  oppressed,  judge  the  fatherless,  plead  for  the  widow" 
(Isaiah  i,  i6,  17).  "Not  every  one  that  saith  unto  me.  Lord,  Lord, 
shall  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  he  that  doeth  the  will 
of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven"  (Matthew  vii,  21).  "Except  a 
man  be  born  again  he  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of  God"    (John 

"i,  3). 

The  whole-hearted  recognition  of  this  ideal  of  a  pure  and  helpful 
life,  vitalized  by  love  of  God  and  man,  and  the  deliberate  determina- 
tion to  follow'  him,  Jesus  seems  to  have  taught  as  the  necessary 
condition  of  admittance  into  the  kingdom.  The  intense  earnestness 
of  Jesus'  appeal  to  a  higher  life  leaves  little  doubt  as  to  the  indi- 
vidual's responsibility  in  securing  his  admittance  into  that  life,  or 
the  life-giving  happiness  of  the  new  relationship.  "I  am  come  that 
they  might  have  life,  and  that  they  might  have  it  more  abundantly" 
(John  X,  10).  "My  disciples  may  have  my  joy  fulfilled  in  them- 
selves" (John  xvii,  13). 


36  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Fourth  Day  :  C^e  fUttlfOti  of  0rotDtI)  of  tlje  feinffUom 

"It  is  like  leaven,  which  a  woman  took  and  hid  in  three  measures 
of  meal,  till  the  whole  was  leavened." — Luke  xiii,  21. 

"The  old  order  changeth,  yielding  place  to  new, 
And  God  fulfils  Himself  in  many  ways." 

— Tennyson. 

Matthew  v,  14-16;  vi,  1-4;  vii,  5,  6;  xiii,  3-43. 

Fairbairn  :    Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ,  Chapter  VI. 

GiDDiNGS  :   Elements  of  Sociology,  Chapter  XII. 

Peabody  :    Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  Chapter  IV. 

HiLLis :   Influence  of  Christ  in  Modern  Life,  Chapter  II. 

Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  pages  296  ff. 


CONCEPTION    OF   HIS   SOCIAL   MISSION  37 

Fourth  Day  :  CI)c  iHctljoB  of  (Srototb  of  tlje  filtnfftiom 

The  growth  in  power  of  the  ideas  of  Jesus  was  to  be,  like  other 
spiritual  or  social  movements  or  growths,  very  gradual,  and  thru 
the  influence  of  one  soul  upon  another.  Christianity  was  not  to  be 
promoted  by  warfare  and  conquest.  No  force  was  to  be  used  save 
the  compelling  force  of  noble  teaching  and  of  a  strong  and  beau- 
tiful example.  Jesus,  in  his  commandments  to  avoid  even  the 
thought  and  desire  of  evil,  does  not  ignore  the  deadly  results  of 
sin.  No  appeal  was  made  to  motives  of  popularity  or  wealth  or 
power ;  for  the  call  was  to  a  higher  personal  life  and  to  a  realization 
of  social  duty.  Jesus'  spirit,  entering  into  the  life  of  his  follow- 
ers, would  slowly,  as  their  numbers  increased,  and  as  his  spirit 
became  a  larger  factor  in  their  lives,  come  to  raise  the  whole  level 
of  society  toward  the  purity  and  goodness  of  God.  Seneca  said 
wisely:  "Men  trust  their  eyes  rather  than  their  ears.  The  effect 
of  precept  is  slow  and  tedious,  that  of  example  is  quick  and  effect- 
ual." 

Jesus  laid  down  only  the  foundation  principles  of  his  kingdom. 
Indeed,  his  kingdom  was,  itself,  the  fundamental  principles  of  liv- 
ing— the  leaven  and  the  mustard  seed.  A  stark  doctrine,  elaborate, 
systematized,  concrete,  would  have,  wrought  failure  by  its  very 
finiteness.  Jesus  brought  life.  Churches,  creeds,  social  institutions, 
manners  of  living — all  the  various  methods  of  applying  his  basic 
ideas  to  the  varying  conditions  of  life,  Jesus  left  to  the  determination 
of  times  and  places,  to  the  conscience  of  his  followers.  His  were 
the  fertile  principles  of  life  and  growth,  whose  immediate  applica- 
tion was  for  individuals,  sects,  countries,  and  races. 


38  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Fifth  Day  :  S^^^s'  ^utljDritp  in  ^ia  Einjaom 

"And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto 
myself." — John  xii,  32. 

"No  one  cometh  unto  the  Father,  but  by  me." — John  xiv,  6. 

Matthew  iii,  13-17;  v,  38,  39;  xii,  1-8. 

Mark  ii,  5;  xi,  I5-I7- 

John  vi,  35,  40;  xiv,  6. 

Rhees  :    T/t£  Life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Part  III,  Chapters  II,  III. 

HiLLis  :   Influence  of  Christ  in  Modern  Life,  Chapter  IV. 

Schmidt  :    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  Chapter  XIV. 


CONCEPTION    OF    HIS   SOCIAL   MISSION  39 

Fifth  Day  :  3rf6Ufi('  9ltttI)oritp  in  |)i£(  EtnffHom 

In  his  teaching,  Jesus  rested  upon  his  own  authority  as  absolute. 
He  did  not  hesitate  to  place  his  own  word  above  the  Mosaic  law ; 
he  proclaimed  his  message  now  as  his  own,  now  as  his  heavenly 
Father's,  with  no  distinction ;  he  taught  his  disciples  to  look  to  him 
as  their  only  means  of  entrance  into  the  higher  life  ("I  am  the 
way,  the  truth  and  the  life ;  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but 
by  me." — ^John  xiv,  6) — a  colossal  assumption  surely,  if  he  were 
but  a  man ;  a  clear  statement  and  a  challenge  to  all  the  ages,  sub- 
lime in  its  boldness,  but  justified  by  the  divine  greatness  of  his 
character,  the  matchless  sublimity  of  his  teaching,  and  proved  to 
succeeding  generations  by  the  historic  success  of  his  work. 

It  was  Jesus'  relation  to  his  Father  upon  which  he  based  his 
authority.  Just  as  (tho  in  a  much  feebler  way)  we  feel,  in  rare, 
exalted  moments,  at  one  with  some  friend  deeply  loved  and  per- 
fectly understood,  Jesus  had  always  a  glorifying  sense  of  his  one- 
ness with  God.  He  felt  his  own  glowing  ideals  of  truth  and  good- 
ness to  be  those  of  God,  to  be  God's  character.  Jesus  and  his 
Father  were  one  in  thought  and  purpose.  In  his  kingdom  our 
knowledge  of  the  divine  law  comes  thru  his  teachings,  and  he  does 
not  hesitate  to  go  into  the  depths  of  our  hearts  with  his  searching 
commands. 

And  Jesus  was  the  great  teacher.  His  simple  followers  would 
have  been  unable  to  grasp  coldly  detached  ideas,  ethical  or 
religious  principles.  To  all  natures,  simple  or  complex,  the  per- 
sonal embodiment  of  the  idea  brings  the  strongest  appeal.  Real, 
lasting  teaching  comes  thru  the  vital  thrill  of  a  strong  personality 
illustrating  its  own  teachings — or  embodying  them.  To  accept  Jesus' 
character  as  the  ideal,  and  to  try  to  emulate  it,  this  it  is  to  ac- 
knowledge the  authority  of  Jesus  and  to  come  under  the  sway  of  his 
kingdom,  to  know  God. 


40  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Sixth  Day  :  Eclation  of  j^tfi  J&iaffUom  to  t|)c  ^tate 

"All   human    affairs    are    connected     with    the     divine." — Marcus 
Aurelius. 

Matthew  xvii,  24-27;  xxii,  15-21. 
Seeley  :   Ecce  Homo,  Chapters  III-VII. 
Mathews  :   Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapters  III,  V,  IX. 
Speer:    The  Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapters  XLIX,  L. 
HiLLis:    Influence  of  Christ  in  Modern  Life,  Chapters  I,  II. 


CONCEPTION    OF    HIS    SOCIAL    MISSION  41 

Sixth  Day  :  Kclation  of  |)tfi(  EinffUont  to  tf)e  ^tate 

Profoundly  as  it  was,  in  time,  to  affect  all  government  and  the 
whole  social  order,  Jesus  did  not  set  up  his  kingdom  in  opposition 
to  the  state.  He  was  scrupulous  in  conforming  to  the  demands  of 
the  government  under  which  he  lived,  for  he  would  cause  none  to, 
stumble  over  non-essentials.  His  was  the  rare  wisdom  that  led 
him  to  see  the  trivial  or  temporary  for  what  it  was,  and  to  save 
his  scorn  or  his  enthusiasm  for  what  was  essential  and  lasting. 
Important  as  was  the  state,  it  stood  as  nothing  compared  with  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  its  righteousness. 

As  it  was  with  governments,  so  it  was  with  creeds  and  churches 
and  forms  of  society.  They  were  left  to  be  developed  or  modified 
by  the  growth  of  a  Christian  public  sentiment.  Civil  government 
for  the  protection  of  life  and  property  would  have  little  essential 
conflict  with  Jesus'  kingdom  of  spiritual  development.  They  were 
different  fields,  with  different  aims  and  different  methods ;  but  as 
the  ideal  of  Jesus  came  to  dominate  the  world,  they  would  come 
more  and  more  to  be  the  motive  principles  of  political  forms  and 
of  social  order. 


42  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Seventh  Day:  Ec^teto 

1.  How  did  Jesus'  conception  of  his  work  differ  from  the  popular 
idea  of  the  Messiah's  mission? 

2.  Do  you  think  that  Jesus  looked  ahead  to  the  regeneration  of 
the  world  by  his  teaching?     Give  your  reasons. 

3.  What  is  the  social  significance  of  the  idea  of  God  as  Father? 

4.  Was  Jesus'  death  an  atoning  sacrifice  or  an  inevitable  result  of 
his  self-sacrificing  life,  or  both?  Is  the  thought  of  a  debt  of  human 
sin  paid  by  the  death  of  Jesus  consistent  with  the  idea  of  God 
taught  by  Jesus? 

5.  How  significant  are  creeds  and  churches  in  the  development  of 
the  kingdom?  Thru  the  Dark  Ages  could  there  have  been  a  more 
effective  way  of  conserving  the  ideas  of  Jesus? 

6.  Can  the  application  of  Jesus'  perfect  principles  to  every-day 
living  or  to  work-a-day  forms  and  institutions  be  in  any  case  per- 
fect?   Think  out  reasons  for  your  answer. 

7.  Upon  what  was  Jesus'  authority  based? 

8.  Is  the  greatest  self-confidence  the  necessary  characteristic  of 
the  greatest  leader? 

9.  How  did  Jesus  put  into  practice  the  first  principle  of  successful 
teaching,  the  use  of  personal  influence? 

10.  Are  the  state  and  Jesus'  kingdom  entirely  separate?  Should 
they  be  so? 

11.  Shovild  the  relations  of  church  and  state  be  the  same  in  all 
countries? 


STUDY  IV 

The  Principle  of  Individual  Responsibility:  Its  Social 

Significance 

"For  whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap." — Gal- 
atians  vi,  7. 

"Forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we  also  have  forgiven  our  debtors." — 
Matthew  vi,  12. 

"Whosoever  therefore  shall  break  one  of  these  least  command- 
ments, and  shall  teach  men  so,  he  shall  be  called  least  in  the  king- 
dom of  heaven :  but  whosoever  shall  do  and  teach  them,  he  shall 
be  called  great  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven." — Matthew  v,  19 


44  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


First  Day  :  C^toofoIU  EccponfiiibiUtp  of  t|)c  ^nUibiUttal 

"To  thine  own  self  be  true, 
And  it  must  follow,  as  the  night  the  day, 
Thou  canst  not  then  be  false  to  any  man." 

— Shakespeare. 

Matthew  v,  3-16,  43,  44. 

Luke  x,  27. 

Speer  :    Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapter  XXX. 

Peabody:    Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  Chapters  III, 

IV. 
Mathews  :   The  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapters  VIII,  IX. 


INDIVIDUAL    RESPONSIBILITY  45' 

First  Day  :  ClDofolli  Keepondbilitp  of  tbe  ^TnUiiJiHtial 

A  central  thought  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus  is  that  of  individual 
responsibility.  No  man  can  put  the  responsibility  for  his  sins 
upon  another.  It  is  himself  alone  who  will  be  held  accountable. 
This  individual  responsibility  that  Jesus  taught  has  two  aspects : 
the  duty  of  self-development,  that  of  cultivating  a  pure  heart  and  a 
right  attitude  toward  God;  and  the  duty  of  helpfulness  toward 
others.  The  fulfilment  of  the  first  is  a  prerequisite  of  all  genuine 
helpfulness  and  true  social  service ;  for  the  seed  of  the  kingdom 
was  planted  in  the  individual  hearts  of  men.  One  soul  cannot  do 
true  Christian  work  upon  another  until  it  is  itself  made  strong  and 
pure  and  helpful  by  coming,  thru  the  ideals  of  Jesus,  into  harmony 
with  God.  It  is  the  duty  of  each  human  being  to  decide  for  himself, 
to  be  meek  and  reverent  toward  all  things  truly  great  and  good, 
to  desire  purity  and  peace,  to  love  the  Father  and  to  seek  comfort 
in  trusting  him.  As  the  Fatherhood  of  God  is  the  basic  principle 
of  the  kingdom,  so  the  establishment  of  a  right  relationship  with 
the  Father  is  the  first  duty  of  the  individual  life. 

Then,  according  to  the  teaching  and  life  of  Jesus,  comes  the 
second  duty,  a  necessary  consequent  of  the  fulfilment  of  the  first, 
and  the  first  stage  in  the  open-air  growth  of  the  little  seedling  of 
the  kingdom.  This  is  a  glad,  helpful  acknowledgment  of  fraternal 
relationships,  the  assumption  of  social  responsibilities.  The  poor, 
Jesus  said,  were  to  be  succored,  enemies  forgiven,  children  treated 
tenderly;  mercy  is  to  be  shown  to  the  weak  and  to  the  erring, 
peace-making  is  to  quiet  discord,  and  all  harsh  judgments  are  to  be 
withheld.  The  very  air  and  sunshine  and  dew  of  the  kingdom  are 
to  be  service;  and  the  individual  who  enters  the  kingdom  must  of 
his  own  will  take  up  the  work. 

I  "Heaven  deals  with  us  on  no  representative  system.  Souls  are 
not  saved  in  bundles.  The  Spirit  saith  to  the  man,  'How  is  it  with 
thee?  thee  personally?    Is  it  well?    Is  it  ill?'" — Emerson. 


46  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF.  JESUS 


Second  Day  :  ^Tnlit^ttittal  KegponstijiUtp  for  tl)e  5Efiie  of 
©pportunitp 

"Vanity  it  is,  to  wish  to  live  long,  and  to  be  careless  to  live  well." — 
Thomas  a  Kempis^ 

"The  one   thing  in   the   world,  of  value,    is   the   active    soul." — 
Emerson. 

Luke  xix,  12-26. 

Matthew  xxv,  1-13. 

Mark  viii,  34-38 ;  xiii,  33-37- 

HiLLis :    Influence  of  Christ  in  Modern  Life,  Chapter  II. 

Harnack:    What  is  Christianity?  pages  70-78. 

Peabody:  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  Chapters  II,  III. 


INDIVIDUAL    RESPONSIBILITY  47 

Second  Day  :  ^nUibiUnal  KccponsibtUti)  for  tl)e  SEse  of 
©pportunitp 

All  talent,  all  social  power  and  influence,  are  opportunities  for 
service,  and  for  the  use  of  such  opportunities  every  man  is  held 
accountable. 

Meager  opportunity  is  no  excuse  for  neglect.  Whether  great  or 
small,  that  is  at  times  only  a  matter  of  God's  disposing ;  for  it  the 
individual  often  does  not  have  the  responsibility.  The  Father,  with 
the  infinite  mercy  and  sympathy  and  insight  revealed  by  Jesus,  may 
be  trusted  to  remember  that.  But  at  times  we,  as  individuals,  do 
have  the  responsibility ;  and,  at  any  rate,  the  good  and  the  power 
within  us  are  there  not  to  be  neglected  and  killed,  but  to  be  used, 
however  modestly,  and  in  the  using  to  grow.  The  aim  is  the  devel- 
opment of  the  spirit  of  service,  the  true  and  Christian  spirit,  not 
merely  the  amount  of  service  rendered. 

For  this  use  of  opportunities  is  necessary  not  only  to  the  spread 
of  Jesus'  kingdom  thruout  the  world,  but  also  to  the  growth  of 
the  individual  character.  It  is  necessary  to  the  spread  of  the  king- 
dom, for  thru  service  the  kingdom  is  to  grow;  but  just  as  surely  is 
it  necessary  to  the  individual,  for  only  by  the  application  of  those 
principles,  set  germinating  in  the  heart,  to  the  work  of  living  and 
serving,  can  life  come  to  ennoble  character.  Jesus  brought  life — 
the  principles  of  the  Higher  Life.  "I  am  come  that  they  might  have 
life."  The  individual  is  responsible  for  its  nourishment  and  life- 
developing  exercise.  With  such  principles  recognized,  yet  unapplied 
to  daily  opportunities,  the  hold  upon  the  ideal  of  Jesus  weakens, 
the  vision  of  the  face  of  God  fades,  and  the  soul  loses  its  chance 
for  the  Higher  Life. 


48  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Third  Day  :  ^nUepenUence  in  ^oBffmcnt  EcffarBinff  our  £)tttie« 

"I  am  the  captain  of  my  soul." — Henley. 

"That  tower  of  strength 
Which  stood  four-square  to  all  the  winds  that  blew." 

— Tennyson. 

"Nothing  can  bring  you  peace  but  yourself.    Nothing  can  bring  you 
peace  but  the  triumph  of  principles." — Emerson. 

Luke  v,  27-39;  xii,  57. 

John  xiv  ;  xv ;  xvi. 

Speer  :   Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapter  XLI. 

HiLLis :   Influence  of  Christ  in  Modern  Life,  Chapter  XIV. 

Mathews  :    Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapter  IX. 

Peabody  :  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  Chapters  II,  IIL 


INDIVIDUAL    RESPONSIBILITY  49 

Third  Day  :  SfnUcpenUence  in  S^ttBffracnt  Kcffarting;  our  ^tttteg 

Responsibility  as  to  duties  is  based  upon  independence  of  judg- 
ment. By  the  example  of  Jesus  and  by  his  method  of  training  the 
disciples,  independence  in  judging  right  and  wrong  is  itself  held  up 
as  a  duty.  And  it  is  to  be  no  superficial  judgment,  but  the  result 
of  thought  and  care,  for  Jesus  looked  deep  into  the  heart  of  things 
and  sought  to  teach  his  followers  so  to  look.  Consider  his  teaching 
regarding  the  Sabbath.  He  did  not  rely  upon  the  customs  of  his 
day ;  he  looked  for  the  true  significance  of  the  Sabbath.  In  thought- 
ful, careful  study,  then,  illumined  by  an  ever-present  consciousness 
of  the  relationship  of  God  to  his  children,  is  to  be  found  the  basis 
of  right  judgment. 

Jesus  brought  more  abundant  life ;  and  as  one  of  the  principles 
of  this  life  (life  which  is  growth)  is  service,  so  another  is  inde- 
pendence in  the  recognition  of  duty  and  responsibility  in  the  assump- 
tion of  duty.  No  stereotyped  customs  or  generally  accepted  code 
of  morals  or  manners  are  to  take  the  place  of  individual  judgment. 
We  need  not  object  to  customs  because  they  are  common;  but  we 
are  to  judge  them,  not  accept  them  without  thought.  True,  Jesus 
always  taught  his  disciples  to  look  to  him  as  an  example.  But 
even  that  did  not  preclude,  but  rather  entailed  independence  of 
judgment;  for  Jesus  stood  for  and  taught  only  great  principles  and 
lofty  ideals.  Their  application  to  living,  to  the  performance  of  daily 
duties,  was  left  to  develop  the  hearts  of  his  followers.  Imbued 
with  the  Christian  spirit,  and  unblinded  by  customs,  untrammeled 
by  prejudices,  even  unaided  by  specific  directions  from  the  Master, 
they  must  learn  to  recognize  duties. 

This  was  a  principle  of  growth  of  individual  character.  But  if 
we  judge  freely,  we  must  grant  to  others  the  same  privilege.  Hence 
arises  the  principle  of  tolerance  in  social  as  well  as  in  religious 
matters.  So,  too,  from  the  principles  of  individual  responsibility, 
independence  and  tolerance,  come  all  free  forms  of  government, 
Jesus  is  in  reality  the  founder  of  free  governments. 


50  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Fourth  Day  :  KeltffiouB  jTorme!  anH  C!)ri6tian  ^Duties 

"Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites !  for  ye  tithe 
mint  and  anise  and  cummin,  and  have  left  undone  the  weightier 
matters  of  the  law,  justice,  mercy,  and  faith." — Matthew  xxiii,  23. 

Matthew  vi,  1-8. 

Mark  ii,  18-22. 

Luke  vi,  i-ii. 

Speer:    Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapter  IX. 

Harnack:    What  is  Christianity?  pages  63-70. 

Peabody  :    Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  Chapters  VII, 

VIII. 
Mathews':  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapter  IX. 


INDIVIDUAL    RESPONSIBILITY  5« 

Fourth  Day  :  Ecliffioufi  JonnB  atiB  C|)ri£(tian  Duties 

A  dominating  tendency  in  most  human  beings  in  their  social  rela- 
tions is  that  toward  formalism.  Social  courtesies,  originally  the  ex- 
pression of  kindliness  of  heart,  have  too  often  come  to  be  mere  cold 
formalities;  social  life  is  crystallized  into  a  certain  amount  of  give 
and  take,  and  all  one's  strength  and  an  extravagant  amount  of 
money  are  expended  to  keep  the  social  "debts"  paid;  public  duties 
stultify  into  blind  allegiance  to  party  or  to  the  political  boss — all 
because  intellectual  apathy  or  inertia  is  not  overcome  and  underlying 
principles  have  been  forgotten.  Even  in  the  highest  things  of  life 
this  tendency  is  marked.  Church-going,  Bible-reading,  family  wor- 
ship, even  private  prayer,  too  often  become  mere  ceremonies,  the 
spirit  gone.    Yet  perhaps  they  are  still  regarded  as  duties. 

It  is  true  that  good  things  should  become  habitual.  A  moral 
economy  is  as  necessary  to  growth  as  is  intellectual  or  physical 
economy.  But  when  social,  political  or  religious  habits  seem  to 
conflict  with  duties  toward  one's  self  or  one's  neighbor,  the  teaching 
is  clear — we  must  look  back  to  the  principles  upon  which  the  habits 
are  based,  we  must  consider  what  course  will  count  most  in  the 
development  of  the  highest  life  and  in  service  to  society ;  we  must 
be  independent  in  our  judgments;  and  we,  and  we  alone,  are  respon- 
sible for  the  decision.  We  cannot  place  that  responsibility  upon 
the  shoulders  of  ruler,  pastor,  or  friend.  The  we  may  welcome 
advice  (and  it  is  generally  wise  to  seek  advice),  we  must  make  our 
own  decisions.  This  is  hard  work,  but  it  is  the  necessary  condition 
of  moral  and  spiritual  as  well  as  of  intellectual  growth. 


52  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Fifth  Day  :  Eelation  at  ii)t  Cl)tirc|)  to  Clbristiaii  Itbina: 

"So  we,  who  are  many,  are  one  body  in  Christ." — Romans  xii,  5. 

"To  be  of  no  church  is  dangerous." — Samuel  Johnson. 

"Purity  of  heart  and  life,  Christ's  spirit  of  love  towards  God 
and  man;  this  is  all  in  all.  This  is  the  only  essential  thing.  The 
church  is  important  only  as  it  ministers  to  this;  and  every  church 
which  so  ministers  is  a  good  one.  .  .  .  The  church  which  opens 
on  heaven  is  that,  and  that  only,  in  which  the  spirit  of  heaven 
dwells.  The  church  whose  worship  rises  to  God's  ear  is  that,  and 
that  only,  where  the  soul  ascends.  No  matter  whether  it  be  gathered 
in  cathedral  or  barn ;  whether  it  sit  in  silence,  or  send  up  a  hymn ; 
whether  the  minister  speak  from  carefully  prepared  notes,  or  from 
immediate,  fervent,  irrepressible  suggestion." — Channing. 

Luke  xiii,  10-16. 
Philippians  iv,  8. 

HiLLis :  The  InAuence  of  Christ  in  Modern  Life,  Chapters  I  and  XV. 
Mathews:    The  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapter  IX. 
Peabody:   Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  Chapters  VII, 
VIII. 


INDIVIDUAL    RESPONSIBILITY  53 

Fifth  Day  :  Kclatton  of  tj)e  €()tirc()  to  Cbrietian  littng; 

With  the  soul  directly  responsible  to  God,  and  with  service  to 
society  as  the  highest  duty,  our  relation  to  the  church  is  sometimes 
a  matter  for  most  thoughtful  consideration.  With  the  church  have 
been  and  are  connected  in  our  day  most  men  of  the  highest  character. 
Fev^r  of  us  see  clearly.  What  the  best  people  (those  who  have  come 
nearest  to  living  the  Christian  life)  think  on  matters  of  moment  is 
apt  to  be  right,  and  the  result  of  their  experience  is  worthy  of  care- 
ful and  reverent  consideration.  Surely  the  church  has  much  to 
offer  that  is  pure  and  lovely  and  of  good  report,  and  usually  our 
opportunities  for  the  most  helpful  service  are  increased  by  church 
relationships. 

But  neither  to  man  nor  to  institution  may  we  surrender  our  own 
judgment  and  still  live — live  the  growing  life  that  Jesus  brought. 
From  the  wisdom  and  experience  of  the  church  we  should  gladly 
seek  advice,  but  Jesus  holds  us  responsible  for  independent  judg- 
ment. There  is  often  danger  that,  when  we  have  joined  a  church, 
we  shall  feel  our  responsibility  lifted,  and  that,  drifting  with  the 
customs  of  our  church,  we  shall  let  its  forms  of  worship  satisfy  us, 
not  realizing  that  forms  of  worship  in  themselves  are  not  service. 
Be  not  like  the  Pharisees,  "for  they  say  and  do  not."  The  wise 
preacher  should  be  to  us  as  the  lawyer  or  the  physician,  one  from 
whom  we  seek  counsel,  tho  counsel  on  questions  more  essential 
than  those  of  financial  or  physical  ills.  The  church,  the  Sabbath, 
the  glorious  traditions  of  good  men  and  Godward  movements — all 
were  made  for  man,  not  man  for  them.  And  to  the  service  of  hu- 
manity performed  by  them  is  it  not  the  individual  responsibility 
of  each  would-be  member  of  the  kingdom  to  add  his  thoughtful 
service  in  the  measure  of  his  strength  ? 


54  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Sixth  Day  :  STnUi^i^ttal  Kcspanetbilitp  in  its  Eclatina  to  oor 
|)abit£i  anU  ^cUefs 

"Our  first  concern  is  at  home,  our  chief  work  is  in  our  own 
breasts.  It  is  idle  to  talk  of  our  anxiety  for  other  men's  souls  if 
we  neglect  our  own.  Without  personal  virtue  and  religion  we  can- 
not, even  if  we  would,  do  much  for  the  cause  of  Christ.  It  is  onl}' 
by  purifying  our  own  conceptions  of  God  and  duty  that  we  can  give 
clear  and  useful  views  to  others.  We  must  first  feel  the  power  of 
religion,  or  we  cannot  recommend  it  with  an  unaffected  and  prev- 
alent zeal.  Would  we,  then,  promote  pure  Christianity?  Let  us 
see  that  it  be  planted  and  take  root  in  our  own  minds,  and  that  no 
busy  concern  for  others  take  us  from  the  labor  of  self-inspection 
and  the  retired  and  silent  offices  of  piety." — Channing. 

Matthew  x,  24,  25 ;  xi,  15,  18,  19. 

Ephesians  vi,  10,  II. 

Philippians  ii,  12-16. 

HiLLis :    Influence  of  Christ  in  Modern  Life,  Chapter  IV. 

Harnack:    What  is  Christianity  f  pages  1 17-124. 

Peabody:   Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  Chapter  IV. 


INDIVIDUAL    RESPONSIBILITY  55 

Sixth  Day  :  ^TnliDiUttal  RteponsibiUtp  in  its  Eclatian  to  our 
||)abtt£[  anD  ^eltcfEt 

The  casting  of  responsibility  for  spiritual  growth  upon  the  indi- 
vidual sometimes,  superficially,  appears  to  result  in  impractical  or 
careless  or  wicked  habits  of  living,  harmful  to  society.  The  ortho- 
dox Jews,  perhaps  very  honestly,  thought  Jesus  a  wine-bibber  and 
John  possessed  of  a  devil ;  but  the  true  Christian  attitude,  with  its 
emphasis  upon  spiritual  principles  and  their  developing  power,  must 
needs  be  widely  tolerant  of  forms  that  are,  of  necessity,  as  varied 
as  circumstances  and  personality.  A  man  may  conscientiously, 
tho  wrongly,  become  a  dull,  thoughtless  follower  of  his  special  creed 
or  of  the  formal  rites  of  his  special  institution ;  but  if  so,  there 
can  be  little  religious  growth,  no  admittance  of  the  innermost  spirit 
of  Jesus  into  the  heart,  henceforth  to  be  the  seat  of  judgment  for 
all  duties  and  responsibilities.  Yet  such  independent  Christianity 
cannot  result  in  lawlessness,  selfish  individualism,  anarchy  in  either 
church  or  state;  for  its  growth  is  thru  service,  and  the  highest 
service  can  only  be  in  an  orderly  and  regulated  association  with 
others. 

Nor  can  such  a  principle  be  said  to  inculcate  socialism,  or  in  any 
way  to  limit  the  freedom  of  individual  growth.  Jesus'  social  principle 
was  the  basic  one  of  mutual  helpfulness  thru  independent  individuals. 
He  taught  no  political  or  social  system.  His  purpose  was  to  develop 
men.  As  insight  deepens,  as  humanity  grows  into  the  Higher  Life, 
the  ideals  of  Jesus  will  increase  in  authority  as  men  become  more 
capable  of  reahzing  them.  His  authority,  the  power  of  his  prin- 
ciples of  loving  trust  and  active  service,  can  only  grow  stronger 
and  more  vital  as  they  enter  into  and  become,  unconsciously,  a  part 
of  ourselves — the  highest  and  the  best. 


S6  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Seventh  Day:  Eebieto 

1.  Can  any  one  render  good  service  to  society  unless  he  has  high 
social  ideals? 

2.  When  service  to  society  seems  to  conflict  with  generally  estab- 
lished and  recognized  duties,  what  must  one  do?  Does  such  service 
sometimes  conflict  with  one's  highest  individual  development? 

3.  Has  every  one  opportunity  for  growth? 

4.  Are  we  always  capable  of  judging  independently  of  our  duties? 
If  we  feel  that  we  are  not,  how  should  we  act?  To  whom  should 
we  go? 

5.  Does  a  wrong  judgment,  made  in  all  sincerity,  sometimes  do 
more  harm  to  society  than  it  does  good  to  the  individual? 

6.  Does  a  wrong  judgment  harm  the  individual? 

7.  Is  an  arrogantly  independent  attitude  sometimes  as  narrowing 
as  one  too  trustful? 

8.  Is  there  any  relation  between  Christian  principle  and  anarchy? 
Socialism?     If  so,  what? 

9.  Have  Jesus'  ideas  fostered  monarchy  or  democracy? 

ID.  How  great  is  Jesus'  authority  today  in  the  church?    In  govern- 
ment?   In  society?    Is  it  increasing  or  decreasing? 


STUDY  V 

Jesus'  Teaching  as  to  Faith  and  Contentment:  Its  Social 

Significance 

"Peace  I  leave  with  you,  my  peace  I  give  unto  you :  not  as  the 
world  giveth,  give  I  unto  you.  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled, 
neither  let  it  be  afraid." — John  xiv,  27. 


S8  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


First  Day  :  ©or  Salne  in  (SoU's  ^isbt 

"Behold  the  birds  of  the  heaven,  that  they  sow  not,  neither  do 
they  reap,  nor  gather  into  barns ;  and  your  heavenly  Father  feedeth 
them.  Are  not  ye  of  much  more  worth  than  they?" — Matthew  vi,  26. 

A  mesure  qu'on  a  plus  d'esprit,  on  trouve  qu'il  y  a  plus  d'hommes 
originaux.    Les  gens  du  common  ne  trouvent  pas  de  difference  entre 
les  hommes." — Pascal. 
Matthew  v,  13-16. 
Luke  xii,  6-8. 
John  iii,  16. 

HiLLis :    The  Influence  of  Christ  in  Modern  Life,  Chapter  VII. 
Harnack:    What  is  Christianity?  pages  63-70. 
Peabody:    Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  Chapters  IV 

and  V. 
Stevens  :    The  Teachings  of  Jesus,  Chapter  IX. 


FAITH   AND    CONTENTMENT  59 

First  Day  :  Out  ?9alttc  in  (So'U'd  S>ia;|)t 

In  ancient  and  medieval,  as  well  as  in  modern  times,  various 
sects  and  peoples  have  placed  little  value  upon  the  individual's  life 
and  prosperity.  The  Romans  held  that  all  the  powers  and  talents 
of  the  citizen  were  most  nobly  spent  in  winning  power  and  renown 
for  his  country;  the  worthiest  death  was  that  met  in  exalting  her 
glory.  The  citizen  existed  only  for  the  state.  Medieval  Christian- 
ity affirmed  the  vanity  of  this  life  and  the  worthlessness  of  hu- 
manity. By  a  separation  from  society  with  all  its  joys  and  sorrows, 
and  a  repudiation  of  all  the  responsibilities  of  the  working  world, 
and  thru  a  mystical  emotional  exaltation,  many  sought  an  escape 
from  the  universal  worthlessness  of  existence  and  an  approach  to- 
ward a  better  and  more  holy  life  of  contemplation.  Sects  in  our 
own  day  have  held  themselves  apart  and  sought  to  stifle  all  joys 
of  living  for  the  sake  of  soul-life  in  another  world. 

But  Jesus  clearly  taught  the  need  of  preparation  for  active  living 
in  this  world,  and  asserted  the  growth  of  intimate  relations  with 
God  thru  unselfish,  helpful,  human  relationships.  Each  individual 
life  is  profoundly  significant,  building  up  the  kingdom  thru  its 
service,  growing  ever  into  nobler  character  itself.  For  the  estab- 
lishment of  ideals  that  should  uplift  individuals  and  thru  them 
society,  Jesus  was  willing  to  suffer  and  die ;  and  in  him  was  revealed 
the  Father's  estimate  of  the  worth  of  his  children. 


6o  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Second  Day  :  '^Calie  no  CI)otiffl)t  far  tbe  iHorrato" 

"The  world  is  too  much  with  us ;  late  and  soon, 
Getting  and  spending,  we  lay  waste  our  powers." 

— Wordsworth. 

Matthew  vi,  26-34;  vii,  7-12. 

Luke  xii,  22-33. 

John  xiv-xvi. 

Speer  :   Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapter  XXXII. 

Harnack:    IVhat  is  Christianity  f  pages  117-124. 

Hyde  :  From  Epicurus  to  Christ,  Chapter  V,  pages  247-256. 


FAITH   AND    CONTENTMENT  6i 

Second  Day  :  "Cafee  na  C()0U3:I)t  for  tbc  Jlorrotn" 

A  thoro,  genuine  belief  in  Jesus'  idea  of  God  and  in  his  revelation 
of  God's  character  is  little  consistent  with  worry.  If  Jesus'  sacrificing 
love  for  humanity  is  like  that  of  the  Father ;  if  each  soul  is  capable  of 
some  reflection  of  his  character,  which  stimulates  it  to  growth;  if 
each  life  is  significant  in  God's  plan  for  bringing  all  the  world 
within  the  influence  of  the  higher  life;  and  if  the  highest  and  most 
satisfying  life  is  service,  should  not  fear  and  worry  be  cast  out? 
Sorrows  may  come,  and  apparent  failures,  yet  with  God's  spirit 
working  in  the  world,  thru  Jesus'  revelation,  into  conscious,  de- 
termining life,  all  things  are  surely  working  together  for  good. 

Yet  the  Christian  faith  is  nothing  akin  to  Oriental  fatalism,  which 
teaches  a  destiny  unalterable  by  man's  striving,  an  order  of  things 
from  which  his  best  effort  can  make  not  a  shadow  of  turning. 
Rather  is  the  Christian  faith  a  basis  for  work.  It  is  itself  the  spirit 
of  life  and  growth  in  service,  strengthening  the  heart  and  brain 
and  arm  with  the  assurance  that  effort  is  worth  while,  and  that 
God  has  given  to  man  a  part,  at  least,  in  the  working  out  of  his  own 
development  and  the  future  of  the  race. 


62  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Third  Day  :   ©nr  ^neintssi  to  Ho  otir  ^ori:  |Jeacc  t()e  Etfittlt 

"A  servant  with  this  clause 
Makes  drudgery  divine ; 
Who  sweeps  a  room,  as  for  thy  lav;s, 
Makes  that  and  th'  action  fine." 

— Herbert. 

Matthew  vii,  13-29. 

Luke  xiii,  22-30. 

John  xiv,  27. 

Speer  :  Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapters  XXXII  and  XLIII. 

Fairbairn  :    Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ,  pages  182-188. 

Harnack  :    What  is  Christianity?  pages  1 17-124. 

Hyde:    From  Epicurus  to  Christ,  Chapter  V,  pages  234-256. 

Peabody:   Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  page  188. 


FAITH   AND    CONTENTMENT  6z 

Third  Day  :  ©ttr  •^Snfiiiwfifi  to  Bo  our  Waxk:  |}cacc  tf)e  Eccalt 

Not  only  is  faith  the  basis  of  work,  but  it  is  only  thru  work  that 
faith  is  kept  strong  and  cheerful.  To  do  our  work,  to  do  it  faithfully 
and  in  the  spirit  of  service — that  is  our  business.  For  if  the  spirit 
of  Jesus  is  to  come  into  all  the  world  thru  service  to  man,  then  every 
necessary  or  useful  trade  or  calling  that  serves  human  needs,  that 
makes  life  more  comfortable,  thinking  more  accurate,  or  mutual 
understandings  easier,  is  such  Christian  service.  The  duty  of  each 
of  us  is  clearly  to  do  that  which  we  can  do  best,  so  as  to  render  the 
greatest  service  to  humanity.  That  calling  is  for  each  of  us  best 
and  most  sacred  in  which  we  can  do  most  good.  There  is  no  other 
test  of  the  sacredness  of  our  calling.  E^ch  one's  life-work  must 
be  determined  by  his  aptitude  and  opportunity.  If  the  difficulties 
are  great,  and  the  results  of  our  work  seem  small,  it  is  the  honest 
effort  that  counts  for  our  growth,  and  that,  full  of  the  spirit  of 
helpfulness,  builds  up  our  strength  and  makes  for  the  development 
of  character. 

So  work  faithfully  done  brings  peace.  There  is  a  work  that  has 
no  peace,  a  restless,  ruthless  striving,  bringing  only  discontent,  that 
but  seeks  in  more  striving  to  satisfy  itself.  Such  is  short-sighted 
struggle  for  self,  or  it  may  be  battle  for  the  very  thrill  and  excite- 
ment of  the  contest.  Such  effort  is  itself  an  end.  While  it  may 
perhaps  at  times  work  for  the  elevation  of  humanity,  the  individual's 
chance  for  development  thru  it  is  only  small. 

Yet  peace-giving  work  is  often  not  without  pain — the  growing 
pains  of  humanity.  Jesus'  life,  the  highest,  was  checkered  by  bitter 
and  recurring  struggles;  yet  his  was  the  peace  that  passes  under- 
standing, the  peace  that  he  left  with  us. 


64  SOCIAL   TEACHINGS  OF.  JESUS. 


Fourth  Day  :  ©ur  l^orft  anil  (But  Jat|)cr*0  ^naintee 

"Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  unto  one  of  these 
my  brethren,  even  these  least,  ye  did  it  unto  me." — Matthew  xxv,  40. 

"All  work,  even  cotton-spinning,  is  noble;  work  is  alone  noble." — 
Carlyle. 

"All  true  Work  is  sacred ;  in  all  true  Work,  were  it  but  true  hand- 
labor,  there  is  something  of  divineness." — Carlyle. 

Matthew  xiii,  37,  38;  xxiv,  14. 

Mark  iv,  26,  27. 

Luke  xviii,  9-14. 

Fairbairn  :   Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ,  Chapter  XI. 

Harnack:    What  is  Christianity  f  pages  19-78. 

Peabody  :  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  Chapters  V,  VI. 


FAITH   AND    CONTENTMENT  65 

Fourth  Day  :  ©or  Wavii  anB  ©ur  jFatI)er'g  ^ufitnegu 

Our  own  work  and  our  Father's  business  may  seem  at  times  to 
conflict.  Conflict  they  surely  do,  if  the  work  is  not  in  harmony  with 
the  principles  of  individual  and  social  development,  which  Jesus 
taught  and  by  which  he  lived.  But  there  should  be  no  narrow  in- 
terpretation of  those  principles,  which  are  deep  enough  to  upraise 
all  humanity,  wide  enough  to  apply  to  all  ages  and  to  all  races  and 
conditions  of  men.  With  this  broad  application,  our  work  should 
be  consciously  in  line  with  service  to  society. 

And  not  only  should  it  be  in  harmony  with  motives  of  helpful- 
ness, but  each  man's  effort  should  be  to  put  himself  into  that  work 
in  which  he  can  render  the  most  service  to  society.  There,  too, 
he  can  obtain  his  highest  growth,  and  gain  his  most  real  peace — 
peace  that  is  not  the  contentment  of  short-sighted  gain  or  mere  self- 
satisfaction,  but  the  restful  realization  of  having  done  his  best,  and 
gladness  in  the  thought  of  infinite  growth  yet  to  be  attained. 

The  ability  to  recognize  the  Father's  business  is  itself  a  matter 
of  growth.  By  persistent  effort  at  fitting  daily  duties  to  Christian 
principles,  and  answering  questions  of  daily  living  by  a  reference 
to  the  Christian  ideals,  we  can  come  more  easily  to  recognize  the 
work  that  is  in  line  with  God's  plan  for  his  kingdom.  And  is  it  not 
the  chief  part  of  our  Christian  work  to  do  most  faithfully  and  well 
the  daily  work  which  we  have  taken  up  because  it  seemed  our  best 
opportunity  for  service  to  others? 


66  SOCIAL   TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Fifth  Day  :  (8oi  to  !>e  CrusteU  for  KtBuIta 

"We  shall  be  made  truly  wise  if  we  be  made  content;  content, 
too,  not  only  with  what  we  can  understand,  but  content  with  what 
we  do  not  understand — the  habit  of  mind  which  theologians  call — 
and  rightly — faith  in  God." — Charles  Kingsley. 

Matthew  xiii,  24-30;  xxv,  31-46. 

I  Corinthians  iii,  6 

Speer  :  Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapter  XLIII. 

Peabody:    Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  Chapters  V 

and  VI. 
Mathews  :   Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapter  IX. 


FAITH   AND    CONTENTMENT  67 

Fifth  Day  :  (0oH  to  be  CrttgtcB  for  EeEfttUtf 

Even  with  Jesus'  revelation  of  the  principles  along  which  life  is 
to  develop  into  higher  phases,  man's  limited  sight  can  cover  but 
a  small  part  of  their  field  of  action.  Generally  speaking,  those 
principles  work  out  to  the  very  apparent  growth  of  man  and  society ; 
but  sometimes  the  results  are  hidden — are  far  in  the  future,  or  are 
in  subtle  forms  unrecognized.    Then  it  is  that  we  must  trust  God. 

Our  part  is  to  apply  the  principles  to  our  own  field  of  activity. 
As  the  man  at  the  head  of  a  department  of  some  manufacturing 
concern  must  see  that  the  work  done  under  his  charge  is  done  in 
the  very  best  way  possible,  trusting  to  the  higher  management  for 
the  larger  plans  which  he  himself  may  not  understand,  so  our  tasks 
have  been  given  us,  and  it  is  ours  to  recognize  that  only  by  a  faithful 
performance  of  individual  trusts  can  the  large  plans  of  social  regen- 
eration be  most  perfectly  carried  out.  May  we  do  evil,  expecting 
that  good  may  come  ? 

The  divine  order  which  is  the  working  basis  of  the  world,  and 
of  whose  essentials  Christians  believe  that  Jesus  has  given  the 
revelation,  can  scarcely  be  perfectly  known  by  man,  tho  he  should 
ever  study  to  understand  it  and  adapt  himself  to  it.  While 
natural  laws  seem  at  times  to  work  hardship  and  suffering,  yet 
they  also  work  development  and  progress.  Without  them  would 
be  chaos  and  no  chance  for  growth.  When  innocent  people  are 
killed  in  a  storm,  or  overwhelmed  in  an  earthquake,  their  friends 
feel  inclined  sometimes  to  question  the  goodness  of  God.  But  if 
God  had  not  given  laws  of  nature  that  are  uniform  in  their  working, 
what  possibility  would  there  be  of  social  or  scientific  progress?  Is 
it  a  matter  of  grave  consequence  in  the  history  of  the  human  race, 
or  can  we  prove  it  to  be  so,  that  a  man  is  killed  at  forty  years  of 
age  instead  of  dying  by  disease  at  fifty?  But  in  the  history  of  the 
race,  how  important  is  uniformity  of  law,  natural  or  moral !  With 
natural  laws  fixed,  and  plans  formed  so  apparently  for  progress, 
with  tasks  God-given  to  each,  man's  obvious  duty  is  to  trust  the 
Father  for  results. 


68  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Sixth  Day  :  jFaitl^  anU  Contentment  in  Eelation  to  (0ooU 
^otocmment 

"Truth  forever  on  the  scaffold,  Wrong  forever  on  the  throne, — 
Yet  that  scaffold  sways  the  future,  and,  behind  the  dim  unknown. 
Standeth  God  within  the  shadow,  keeping  watch  above  his  own," 

— Lowell. 

Matthew  xi,  20. 

Luke  xvii,  6. 

Philippians  iv,  11. 

Speer:    Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapter  XXIV. 

Harnack:    What  is  Christianity  f  pages  1 17-124. 

Peabodv  :    Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  Chapter  VI. 


FAITH   AND    CONTENTMENT  6g 

Sixth  Day  :  Jaitb  anU  Contentment  in  Eelation  to  (Sooti 
(35ol)cmmcnt 

That  contented  acceptance  of  the  established  order  of  things  and 
faith  in  Christian  principles  and  their  unconquerable  growth  and 
final  conquest  of  the  world,  should  be  strong  forces  in  the  securing 
of  good  government  and  better  social  conditions,  may  seem  at  first 
a  paradox.  But  Christianity  is  not  passive;  it  is  active,  and  Chris- 
tian contentment  rests  upon  the  acceptance  of  an  established  and 
growing  order  in  which  each  man  plays  his  part.  It  is  the  sense 
of  duties  being  well  performed,  and  peace-giving  relationship  with 
the  Father  thereby  sustained.  A  God-given  duty  consciously  neg- 
lected, the  relation  is  less  perfect,  the  peace  is  gone. 

Faith  is  a  force  that  makes  for  righteousness,  righteousness  tan- 
gible and  applied  to  government  and  to  society.  For  the  real 
Christian  citizen  is  active,  and  imbued  with  a  feeling  of  responsi- 
bility, knowing  himself  to  be  a  factor  in  social  progress,  and 
believing  all  life  (the  world)  to  be  his  field.  He  is  not  arrogant ; 
for  he  has  a  reverent  sense  of  the  spirit  of  God  working  in  others 
likewise ;  but  he  is  to  be  an  effective  unit  in  society.  His  are  the 
broad  views  and  deep  insight  of  the  statesman,  as  distinguished 
from  the  mere  politician ;  for  he  is  tolerant  of  forms  and  rigorous 
as  to  underlying  principles,  and  his  ideals  are  high.  The  faith  of 
the  Christian  as  a  citizen  is  the  active,  the  living  faith. 

The  best  government  is  that  which  best  serves  the  people.  So  far 
has  Christian  faith  entered  into  our  ideal  of  government.  Thru 
no  revolutionary  process,  no  arrogant  assumption  of  control  by 
any  one  person  believing  himself  to  have  exclusive  insight  into 
God's  plans  for  progress,  thru  no  merely  selfish  struggle  for  "rights" 
in  which  duties  to  society  are  forgotten,  but  by  slow  growth  to 
purer  forms  of  political  action  as  the  life  of  the  nation  comes  into 
higher,  nobler  phases,  will  government  reflect  the  Christianity  of 
its  people  and  grow  ever  better  as  individual  faith  stirs  to  eternal 
vigilance. 


70  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Seventh  Day:  KcbictD 

1.  How  is  the  value  of  our  lives  in  God's  sight  proved? 

2.  Is  it  individual  life  or  the  life  of  the  race  whose  progress  is 
an  object  of  God's  care?  Are  the  souls  of  individuals  sometimes 
sacrificed  to  the  growth  of  the  race? 

3.  What  is  the  difference  between  Christian  faith  and  Oriental 
fatalism? 

4.  In  what  sense  does  work  bring  contentment  when  possession  of 
things  does  not? 

5.  In  what  sense  should  every  man's  work  be  a  social  service? 

6.  May  shoeing  horses  or  raising  sheep  be  a  more  useful,  a  more 
sacred  calling  for  some  men  than  preaching  or  teaching?  For 
whom  ? 

7.  Does  the  using  of  questionable  means  for  an  unquestionably 
good  end  imply  an  unwillingness  to  trust  results  to  God? 

8.  What  is  your  judgment  of  the  saying:  "The  end  justifies  the 
means"? 

9.  What  is  the  relation  of  Christian  faith  to  work? 

10.  Does  Christian  contentment  imply  satisfaction  with  things  as 
they  are? 

11.  What  relation  would  Christian  faith  and  contentment  have 
to  the  cleaning  up  of  a  slum  district  or  the  ousting  of  a  corrupt 
political  boss? 


STUDY  VI 
Jesus'  Attitude  toward  Pleasures 

"And  both  Jesus  was  called,  and  his  disciples,  to  the  marriage." — 
John  ii,  2. 

"Wherefore,  if  meat  make  my  brother  to  offend,  I  will  eat  no 
flesh  while  the  world  standeth,  lest  I  make  my  brother  to  offend." — 
/  Corinthians  viii,  13. 


•J2  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


First  Day  :  j^is  Kccoffnitton  of  S)Ocittp  anU  Social  Cufitoms 

"Render  therefore   unto  Caesar  the  things   that   are   Caesar's." — 
Matthew  xxii,  21. 

Luke  vii,  34-36. 

John  ii,  i-ii. 

Stevens  :    The  Teachings  of  Jesus,  pages  120,  121. 

Mathews  :    The  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapter  VII. 

Rhees  :  Life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Part  III,  Chapter  I. 


ATTITUDE    TOWARD   PLEASURES  73 

First  Day  :  pia  Etcoffnitton  of  ^otictp  anU  S)OciaI  CttBtomg 

In  his  discourses  with  his  disciples  and  others,  Jesus  dealt  mostly 
with  the  mental  attitude  of  men  toward  the  Father  and  toward  his 
kingdom.  Thruout  his  ministry,  however,  we  find  that  he  recog- 
nized the  need  of  association  among  men,  and  that  he  apparently 
did  not  object  to  the  social  customs  of  his  time  in  themselves.  In 
fact,  he  seemed  to  think  that  men  could  best  manifest  their  atti- 
tude toward  the  Father  by  showing  in  their  associations  with  their 
fellow  men  that  they  were  ready  to  be  of  service. 

To  the  customs  of  his  time  he  conformed  so  long  as  those  customs 
had  in  them  nothing  harmful ;  but  he  was  quick  to  see  their  evils 
— the  danger  that  ceremony  would  take  the  place  of  moral  and 
spiritual  feeling,  the  deadening  influence  of  following  customs  with- 
out thought 


74  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Second  Day  :  ^ifi  3lttittiUe  totoart  '^stttitiem 

"True  religion  thus  blends  itself  with  common  life.     We  are  thui 
to  draw  nigh  to  God  without  forsaking  men." — Channing. 

Luke  xiv,  12-24. 

Rhees  :  Life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Part  III,  Chapter  I. 
Stevens  :    The  Teachings  of  Jesus,  pages  123,  124. 
Harnack  :   What  is  Christianity  f  pages  79-88. 


ATTITUDE    TOWARD   PLEASURES  75 

Second  Day  :  |)w  StttituUc  totoarU  'S.titttitiem 

In  his  life  in  society,  Jesus  shows  no  trace  of  asceticism.  We 
find  him  at  different  times  associating  with  the  wealthy  and  with 
the  poor;  with  those  who  are  teachers  and  scholars;  with  those  who 
are  ignorant,  as  well  as  with  the  wise;  with  those  who  are  looked 
upon  by  society  as  righteous ;  with  those  who,  in  the  minds  of  men, 
are  sinners.  If  he  could  call  them  to  repentance,  or  relieve  their 
sufferings,  or  lift  them  nearer  to  his  kingdom,  he  did  not  shun  the 
wicked  or  the  social  outcasts.  He  was  willing  to  endure  the  re- 
proaches and  revilings  of  his  enemies,  if  he  could  by  his  presence  do 
his  Father's  work.  In  all  cases  his  social  life  seems  subordinated 
to  the  doing  of  his  work. 

If  service  to  the  Father  is  to  be  fulfilled  by  service  to  men,  it  is 
not  possible  for  one  outside  of  society,  living  the  life  of  a  hermit, 
to  render  the  best  service  to  God,  except  by  work  which  would  later 
come  back  to  benefit  men.  In  what  ways  could  an  individual,  com- 
pletely and  permanently  cut  off  from  society,  be  of  any  service  to  his 
fellow  men,  or  of  any  service  to  God,  who  cares  for  his  children? 


76  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  lESUS 


Third  Day  :  C|)c  BttH  of  Clinttffljtftilnefifi 

"Make  level  the  path  of  thy  feet,  and  let  all  thy  ways  be  estab- 
lished."— Proverbs  iv,  26. 

"Grow  old  along  with  me ! 
The  best  is  yet  to  be, 
The  last  of  life,  for  which  the  first  was  made." 

— Browning. 

Matthew  iv,  i-ii; 

Mark  xiv,  32-36. 

Luke  iv,  1-13 ;  xxii,  39-46. 

John  iii,  5,  10-12. 

Rhees  :   Life  of  lesus  of  Nazareth,  page  265. 

Speer  :  Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapter  XLVIII. 


ATTITUDE    TOWARD   PLEASURES  77 

Third  Day  :  Cbe  JQccti  of  QEIjouffljtfuIncfiB 

It  is  evident  thruout  the  teachings  of  Jesus,  in  so  far  as  he 
puts  upon  his  followers  the  responsibility  of  determining  their  own 
course  of  action,  that  Jesus  encourages  contemplation  and  thought- 
fulness  and  care  in  determining  what  our  course  of  action  shall  be. 
In  his  own  life,  before  taking  up  his  public  ministry,  he  was  driven 
into  the  wilderness  apparently  to  formulate  in  his  own  mind  the 
principles  of  his  divine  mission  in  founding  his  kingdom,  and  the 
course  which  he  was  to  pursue  in  that  life-work ;  and  the  temptations 
which  threatened  the  very  foundations  of  his  kingdom  had  to  be 
met  and  overcome  alone.  It  seems  indeed  a  frequent  custom  for  him 
to  withdraw  to  a  place  apart,  for  purposes  of  contemplation  and  for 
closer  communion  with  the  Father  in  prayer,  in  order  that  he  may 
fix  clearly  his  course  of  action. 

If  we  are  to  put  ourselves  into  a  position  to  do  the  best  work 
in  God's  kingdom,  or  to  be  of  the  best  service  to  our  fellow  men, 
it  is  necessary  that  we  think  carefully  over  our  plans  and  under- 
take our  work  only  after  we  have  determined  the  ways  in  which  it 
can  be  of  the  greatest  service. 

Can  a  young  man  render  any  better  service  to  the  world  than  so 
to  fit  himself  in  his  earlier  years  by  education  and  training  that 
later  in  life  he  can  use  his  powers  to  the  best  advantage?  If  a  per- 
son's powers  are  well  preserved,  and  if  he  has  been  thoroly  trained 
in  his  younger  years,  ought  not  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life  to  be 
those  of  his  greatest  service?  If  a  man  retains  full  possession  of 
his  faculties  and  a  reasonable  amount  of  energy,  ought  not  the 
accumulated  experience,  the  extended  range  of  acquaintance,  the 
added  influence  that  comes  from  long  associations,  to  render  him 
more  useful  after  he  has  passed  three-score  years  and  ten  than  at 
any  time  before?  We  see  how  contemplation,  thoughtfulness,  stu- 
dious preparation  in  youth,  will  improve  us  and  strengthen  us  for 
later  life. 


78  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Fourth  Day  :  JSelattnn  of  tl)e  C>ebcIopmcnt  of  X^z  SfnUibiHtial 
to  Social  |)rofrefii£( 

"He  called  us  to  seek  our  own  happiness  as  well  as  that  of  others 
in  a  spirit  of  impartial  benevolence ;  to  do  good  to  ourselves,  not 
from  self-preference,  not  from  the  impulse  of  personal  desires,  but 
in  obedience  to  that  sublime  law  which  requires  us  to  promote  the 
welfare  of  each  and  all  within  our  influence." — Channing. 

Matthew  xxv,  34-36. 

Speer:   Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapter  XXXII. 

Peabody:    Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  Chapter  VI. 

Mathews  :   Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapter  VII. 


ATTITUDE    TOWARD   PLEASURES  79 

Fourth  Day  :  Eolation  of  tijc  2)cbclopnicnt  of  tl)e  SfnUitJilJual 
to  S^ocial  p^osreeig 

If  we  are  to  plan  our  lives  in  accordance  with  the  teachings  of 
Jesus,  if  we  are  to  know  best  how  to  render  service  to  others,  we 
must,  in  youth,  undertake  this  preparation,  and  we  must  bear  it  in 
mind  thruout  our  work.  Modern  knowledge  of  hygiene  and  careful 
study  of  the  effects  of  social  pleasures  of  different  kinds,  have  led 
modern  physicians  to  the  opinion  that  a  reasonable  amount  of  re- 
laxation, even  of  enjoyable  society,  is  essential  for  the  proper  devel- 
opment and  conservation  of  our  strength  and  our  abilities.  However 
much  enjoyment,  therefore,  we  may  get  from  social  pleasures,  we 
may  still  have  the  consciousness  that  if  these  pleasures  are  properly 
organized  and  employed  they  will  tend  to  fit  us  better  for  perform- 
ing the  duties  of  life  and  rendering  service  to  society. 

It  is  well  to  keep  in  mind  also  the  thought  that,  since  our  work  is 
to  be  among  men,  we  should  know  how  to  meet  people  in  ways 
that  will  not  arouse  their  hostility.  Many  of  the  bitter  contests 
between  social  classes  today  come  from  the  arrogance  in  manner 
or  thought  of  those  who  consider  themselves  members  of  a  higher 
class,  while  the  poor  and  illiterate,  from  suspicion  of  the  wealthy 
and  highly  trained,  also  look  upon  a  class  distinction  as  if  it 
were  something  fundamental.  When,  however,  one  takes  the  view- 
point of  Jesus,  all  distinctions  of  class  based  on  such  non-essen- 
tials disappear.  Only  the  fundamental  traits  of  righteousness  or 
sinfulness,  sincerity  or  hypocrisy,  selfishness  or  charity,  are  recog- 
nized. It  is  part  of  the  best  social  training  to  feel  the  essentials 
in  social  relations ;  to  recognize  naturally  and  easily  noble  character 
in  any  one,  however  circumstanced.  Only  one  thus  trained  can 
render  the  best   service  to  society. 


8o  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Fifth  Day  :  ^tms  T>at6  not  ConUeinii  puacures  or  Social 
Cudtomct  in  ^^ftmatVota 

"And  behold,  all  things  are  clean  unto  you." — Luke  xi,  41. 

"For  John  the  Baptist  is  come  eating  no  bread  nor  drinking  wine; 
and  ye  say,  He  hath  a  demon.  The  Son  of  man  is  come  eating  and 
drinking;  and  ye  say,  Behold  a  gluttonous  man,  and  a  wine-bibber, 
a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners.  And  wisdom  is  justified  of  all 
her  children." — Luke  vii,  33-35. 

Luke  xiv,  16-24. 

John  ii,  i-ii. 

Speer  :   Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapters  IV,  XLVII. 

Rhees  :   Life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Part  III,  Chapter  I. 


ATTITUDE   TOWARD  PLEASURES  8i 

Fifth  Day  :  "Sesne  Docs  not  Contjfmn  picacurcg  or  §)ociaI 
Customs  in  C()cm6ell)cc 

In  his  own  life,  Jesus  seemed  to  make  no  distinction  between 
pleasures  of  different  kinds  or  social  customs  common  in  his  day, 
excepting  so  far  as  these  pleasures  or  customs  affected  one's  soul- 
life  or  one's  usefulness.  Not  merely  did  he  make  no  objection  to 
social  gatherings,  but  he  himself  recognized  in  his  parables  and  other 
teachings  the  common  social  customs  of  the  time.  Apparently  he  even 
went  into  social  gatherings  in  order  that  he  might  render  service 
to  the  friends  there  assembled,  and  at  any  time  gladly  welcomed  those 
who  were  in  need  of  his  words  of  wisdom  and  grace.  How  clearly 
Matthew,  in  an  account  of  such  an  occasion,  shows  his  way  of 
rebuking  with  an  ironical  touch  the  "righteous"  Pharisees,  while  at 
the  same  time  he  makes  clear  the  inner  meaning  of  Old  Testament 
Scripture  and  explains  his  own  divine  mission : 

"And  it  came  to  pass,  as  he  sat  at  meat  in  the  house,  behold 
many  publicans  and  sinners  came  and  sat  down  with  Jesus  and  his 
disciples.  And  when  the  Pharisees  saw  it,  they  said  unto  his  dis- 
ciples. Why  eateth  your  Teacher  with  the  publicans  and  sinners? 
But  when  he  heard  it,  he  said.  They  that  are  whole  have  no  need 
of  a  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick.  But  go  ye  and  learn  what 
this  meaneth,  I  desire  mercy,  and  not  sacrifice :  for  I  came  not  to 
call  the  righteous,  but  sinners." — Matthew  ix,  10-13. 

Is  it  not  also  a  means  of  extending  our  usefulness  in  our  own 
day  to  make  ourselves  acceptable  members  of  society,  welcome 
in  social  gatherings  and  among  friends  on  such  terms  that  our 
words  and  actions  may  have  their  full  effect  upon  others  who 
are  ready  to  receive  them  in  a  friendly  way?  No  one  need  under- 
estimate the  so-called  "social  graces."  Tho  they  often  lead  one 
into  temptation  to  waste  time  and  energy  with  no  adequate  return 
either  to  one's  self  or  to  others,  they  may  be  a  means  of  enlarging 
one's  usefulness.  Society  ought  not  to  be  a  place  merely  for  excite- 
ment or  to  lose  one's  self  in;  in  society,  too,  with  its  pleasures, 
should  be  lived  the  higher  life. 


82  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Sixth  Day  :  Clje  CcBts  nf  our  S)ocial  Customs 

"Oh,  if  thou  didst  but  consider  how  much  inward  peace  unto  thy- 
self, and  joy  unto  others,  thou  wouldst  produce  by  demeaning 
thyself  well,  I  suppose  thou  wouldst  be  more  careful  of  thy  spiritual 
progress." — Thomas  a  Kempis. 

Matthew  v,  21-30. 

Luke  xii,  42-46;  xxi,  34-36. 

Speer:    Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapter  LI. 

Hyde:   From  Epicurus  to  Christ,  pages  234-256. 

Mathews  :    Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapter  VIIL 

Jenks  :    Citizenship  and  the  Schools,  pages  81  ff. 


ATTITUDE    TOWARD   PLEASURES  83 

Sixth  Day  :  Cl)e  QEcctfii  of  our  §»ocial  Cufitoma 

So  far  as  appears  from  the  New  Testament,  Jesus  judges  more 
severely  and  rigorously  than  did  even  the  Jewish  law  the  weakness 
of  yielding  to  alluring  temptations  injurious  to  the  individual  or  to 
society.  While  only  the  overt  act  of  crime  can  be  recognized  by 
law,  Jesus  condemned  equally  the  evil  motive  and  the  harmful  will. 
And  yet  his  tests  have,  likewise,  in  view  the  ultimate  good  of 
society.  ' 

Any  act  or  habit  which  weakens  the  individual  physically  or  men- 
tally, morally  or  spiritually,  lessens  his  power  for  service  to  others. 
Lack  of  personal  purity,  disregard  of  health,  and  bad  habits  cannot 
be  excused  on  the  ground  that  they  are  only  personal,  and  that,  so 
long  as  the  individual  does  not  interfere  with  others,  he  has  a  right 
to  do  with  himself  as  he  will.  No  act  is  so  personal  that  it  does 
not  affect  others,  for  no  man  liveth  to  himself  alone.  In  most  of 
our  acts  others  are  directly  interested ;  in  all  of  our  acts  others  are 
interested  at  least  indirectly,  for  we  owe  service  to  society. 

Moreover,  many  of  the  so-called  "smaller  vices,"  even  if  not  in 
themselves  directly  injurious  to  all  individuals  as  regards  health, 
are  extremely  disagreeable  to  others,  and  careless  self-indulgence 
at  the  expense  of  the  discomfort  of  others  breeds  selfishness,  one 
of  the  most  insidious  and  dangerous  of  moral  habits.  The  same 
test  needs  often  to  be  applied  to  pleasures  entirely  innocent  and 
harmless  in  themselves,  if  for  any  reason  they  wound  the  feelings 
or  disturb  the  comfort  or  affect  the  welfare  of  others.  I  have 
known  students  to  indulge  themselves  in  extravagant  habits  and 
in  costly  social  entertainments  at  the  expense  of  mothers  or  sisters 
who  were  supporting  them  by  physical  labor. 

Jesus  was  independent  and  fearless  in  following  or  violating  the 
customs  of  his  day.  He  was  not  narrow-minded  or  fanatical.  He 
was  wise,  far-seeing;  he  looked  to  the  heart  of  things.  We  should, 
likewise,  not  merely  drift  with  the  multitude  in  our  pleasures  or 
work.  Whenever  doubt  as  to  the  rightfulness  of  a  social  act  arises, 
we  must  make  an  independent  decision.  Usually  a  right  judg- 
ment will  be  reached,  if  we  answer  to  ourselves  conscientiously  this 
question:  "What  will  be  the  effect,  immediate  or  ultimate,  direct 
or  indirect,  of  such  an  act  upon  my  own  powers  and  opportunities 
for  usefulness?  What  will  be  the  effect  upon  the  comfort  and  real 
welfare  of  others?"  We  need  not  be  narrow-minded,  but  we  ought 
not  to  be  careless  ;  and  we  ought  not  to  fear  the  accusation  of  narrow- 
mindedness  ;  nor  ought  we  to  shrink  from  unpopularity,  if  our  con- 
victions regardmg  our  duty  are  clear. 


84  SOCIAL   TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Seventh  Day:  Ecljieto 

1.  Some  hermits  and  cloistered  monks  have  been  great  scholars 
whose  works  have  lived  for  centuries.  Have  they  lived  outside  of 
society? 

2.  Is  a  man  whose  life  is  devoted  to  work  among  the  poor  to  be 
considered  as  cut  off  from  society? 

3.  Do  the  teachings  of  Jesus  throw  any  light  upon  the  question 
of  monasticism? 

4.  Aristotle,  perhaps  the  greatest  scientific  mind  of  history,  seems 
to  have  devoted  himself  to  study  under  a  teacher  until  he  was  forty 
years  of  age.  Can  we  say  that  his  period  of  preparation  was  unduly 
protracted?  Did  it  probably  lessen  the  sum  total  of  his  services  to 
society? 

5.  What  were  probably  the  chief  services  which  Jesus  rendered  to 
mankind  during  the  first  thirty  years  of  his  life?  Building  houses? 
Studying  the  scripture?  Thinking  about  religious  questions ?  Learn- 
ing human  motives? 

6.  What  is  the  chief  danger  of  beginning  too  early  to  preach — 
either  as  a  minister  or  as  a  layman?  Is  it  difficult  to  overcome  a 
bad  impression  made  on  others?  Is  a  mistaken  or  unripe  opinion 
harmful  to  others? 

7.  How  far  ought  a  student  to  take  part  in  university  festivities? 
Each  should  answer  the  question  for  himself  in  accordance  with  the 
principles  outlined. 

8.  How  do  the  tests  indicated  judge  such  customs  as  smoking, 
wine-drinking,  card-playing,  baseball  playing,  rowing,  dancing? 


STUDY  VII 
Jesus'  Teaching  Regarding  Wealth 

"Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  earth,  where  moth 
and  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves  break  through  and  steal ; 

But  lay  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven,  where  neither  moth 
nor  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  where  thieves  do  not  break  through  nor 
steal ; 

For  where  your  treasure  is,  there  will  your  heart  be  also." — 
Matthew  vi,  19,  20. 

"Not  slothful  in  business;  fervent  in  spirit;  serving  the  Lord." — 
Romans  xii,  11. 


86  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


First  Day  :  WtRlt^  of  iblisht  JHomcnt  Compared  toitb  ©ntrana 
tnto  ti}e  EtnsHom 

"But  seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  his  righteousness." — 
Matthew  vi,  33. 

"And  he  spake  a  parable  unto  them,  saying,  The  ground  of  a 
certain  rich  man  brought  forth  plentifully: 

And  he  thought  within  himself,  saying,  What  shall  I  do,  because 
I  have  no  room  where  to  bestow  my  fruits? 

And  he  said,  This  will  I  do :  I  will  pull  down  my  barns,  and  build 
greater ;  and  there  will  I  bestow  all  my  fruits  and  my  goods. 

And  I  will  say  to  my  soul,  Soul,  thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up 
for  many  years;  take  thine  ease,  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry. 

But  God  said  unto  him,  Thou  fool,  this  night  thy  soul  shall  be 
required  of  thee:  then  whose  shall  those  things  be,  which  thou  hast 
provided?" — Luke  xii,  16-20. 

Matthew  vi,  26-34. 

John  vi,  27. 

Stevens  :    The  Teachings  of  Jesus,  pages  122,  123. 

Mathews  :    Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapter  VI. 

Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  page  374. 

Peabody  :  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question,  Chapter  IV. 


TEACHING   WITH  REGARD   TO    WEALTH  87 

First  Day  :  ^ealtb  of  §)Itg:I)t  i«oment  CompartU  toitb  entrance 
into  tbc  EinffHom 

In  Jesus'  teaching  that  we  are  first  to  attend  to  the  Father's  busi- 
ness we  find  the  keynote  of  his  position  regarding  wealth.  Entrance 
into  his  kingdom  is  the  matter  of  prime  consequence ;  all  other  things 
are  relatively  insignificant.  For  them  we  are  not  to  be  anxious ;  but 
for  living  the  better  life  no  care  is  too  great.  If  we  do  our  daily 
work  conscientiously  and  well,  with  reference,  not  primarily  to  per- 
sonal gain,  but  to  good  honest  work  and  to  service  to  society,  we 
are  about  our  Father's  business.  The  Christian's  life  is  an  active 
life,  and  a  life  among  men. 

In  Jesus'  invectives  against  the  love  of  riches,  we  may  properly 
find  a  warning  against  all  forms  of  selfish  indulgence  that  ruin  char- 
acter and  degrade  society.  Many  of  them  are  connected  with  wealth, 
but  other  forms  of  weak  indulgence  may  have  the  same  effect. 
He  was  poor,  and  his  disciples  and  most  of  his  immediate  follow- 
ers were  poor.  Jesus  spoke  concretely;  and  his  denunciation  of 
selfish  indulgence  of  the  covetous  instinct  was  one  that  appealed  very 
convincingly  to  his  hearers.  Jesus  preached  against  all  indulgence 
exclusively  for  self  which  cuts  off  power  to  serve  others  and  checks 
the  individual's  own  spiritual  growth.  The  desire  for  full,  rich, 
powerful  life  is  bad  only  when  not  subordinated  to  desire  for  higher 
spiritual  life  and  for  service. 


88  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Second  Day  :  QHie  ^tfficttltp  of  S>tTit(ng:  at  tbe  Same  CTime 
for  WtRlt^  anU  i>pirittial  ©j:celUiue 

"And  the  prosperity  of  fools  shall  destroy  them." — Proverbs  i,  32. 

Matthew  vi,  19-24 ;  xix,  23-26. 

Luke  vi,  20-24. 

Speer  :    The  Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapter  XX. 

Peabody:   Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question,  Chapter  IV. 

Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  pages  375  ff. 


TEACHING  WITH  REGARD  TO   WEALTH  89 

Second  Day  :  C()c  Difficult?  of  ^trtbing;  at  t()e  S>aine  CTtme 
for  WtKli^  anU  i>ptrttttal  ©ycclleiue 

The  impossibility  of  seeking  at  the  same  time  for  selfish  gratifica- 
tion and  for  entrance  into  the  higher  life,  Jesus  vividly  expressed. 
The  dangers  of  striving  for  wealth,  even  with  the  ultimate  aim  of 
doing  good,  are  not  small.  Jesus  did  not  say  that  the  entrance  of  the 
rich  man  into  the  kingdom  was  an  impossibility,  but  its  difiiculties 
he  pictures  very  graphically. 

The  pleasures  of  life  make  strong  appeal,  and  Jesus  never  en- 
joined ascetic,  joyless  living.  Desires  for  social  position,  riches, 
fame,  power,  seem  often  justified  by  the  thought  that  thru  them  we 
may  gain  consideration,  wider  reach,  larger  life,  and  hence  fuller 
opportunity  for  service.  The  difficulty  always  is  that  of  keeping  the 
larger  purpose  pure  and  unbiased. 

To  keep  one's  life  purpose  clear  and  fixed  is  a  task  calling  for 
strength  and  steadfastness  of  character,  keenness  of  spiritual  insight 
that  cannot  be  dimmed  by  worldly  considerations,  and  noble  ideals 
held  ever  clear  in  the  midst  of  other  crowding  interests.  For  the 
poor  man,  unsatisfied  or  disappointed  in  his  desires  for  wealth  or 
power,  it  may  well  be  easier  to  recognize  the  worth  of  the  higher 
living.  But  it  is  hard  for  the  man  who  has  attained  outward  show- 
ing of  success — luxury,  consideration,  power — to  be  forever  humble 
before  an  ideal  of  unattainable  perfection,  and  to  recognize  that,  in 
order  to  live  the  life  of  the  kingdom,  he  must  never  sink  back,  self- 
satisfied,  upon  attainments  won,  and  substitute  the  satisfaction  from 
worldly  consideration  for  the  character  growth  that  comes  thru 
service  and  thru  aims  felt  to  be  at  one  with  those  of  the  Father. 


90  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Third  Day  :  Wzu\t\^  BeeH  not  lie  i)on3;I)t,  but  C!)rift  is 
CDmmenBcH 

"He  becometh  poor  that  dealeth  with  a  slack  hand :  but  the  hand 
of  the  diligent  maketh  rich." — Proverbs  x,  4. 

"For  a  man's  life  consisteth  not  in  the  abundance  of  the  things 
which   he  possesseth." — Luke   xii,    15. 

Mark  x,  17-25. 

Luke  xii,  15-21 ;  xiv,  28-32. 

Stevens  :    The  Teachings  of  Jesus,  pages  122,  123. 

Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  pages  376  ff. 

Mathews  :    The  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapter  VI. 

Peabody:    Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question,  Chapter  IV. 


TEACHING   WITH   REGARD   TO    WEALTH  91 

Third  Day  :  ^ealtl)  JQccti  not  6c  S)OiiffI)t,  but  ©brift  tK 
Commcntirt 

If  we  are  not  wise  enough  to  subordinate  pleasure,  power,  wealth, 
to  the  imperative  of  the  higher  life — the  needs  for  right  relationship 
toward  God  and  continual  human  service,  without  which  soul-growth 
will  cease  and  death  begin — if  our  vision  is  too  short  and  wavering 
to  distinguish  the  larger  aim  from  the  shorter  one  that  should  lead 
into  it,  and  if  we  are  not  strong  enough  to  remain  humble  and 
clear-eyed  before  the  thought  of  the  discrepancy  between  our  at- 
tainment and  the  ideal  of  Jesus,  we  must  give  up  either  wealth  or 
the  kingdom.     Jesus'  teaching  is  unmistakable. 

But  thrift  is  incumbent  upon  every  one  who  would  lead  a  self- 
developing  life  and  one  useful  and  helpful  to  society.  It  is  a  corol- 
lary to  Jesus'  teaching  of  independence  of  judgment,  individual 
responsibility,  and  no  less  so  to  his  teaching  of  the  duty  of  helpful- 
ness. Thrift  was  a  cardinal  virtue  of  the  race  that  taught  each  lad 
a  trade  whether  he  were  rich  or  poor.  Like  cleanliness,  it  was 
doubtless  as  obviously  right  and  necessary  to  a  well-ordered  life  in 
Jesus'  day  as   in  ours. 

It  was  only  in  the  Dark  Ages  that  mendicancy  and  disregard  of 
cleanliness  were  held  signs  of  saintliness.  Jesus  spent  no  effort 
upon  obvious  and  recognized  duties.  In  his  parables  thrift  is  tacitly 
recognized  as  a  virtue.  Indeed,  prudence  is  sometimes  the  figure 
of  the  parable,  and  from  every-day  and  obvious  duty  is  argued  the 
higher  and  the  larger  one.  While  wealth  might  be  an  obstacle  to 
entrance  into  the  kingdom,  thrift  of  itself  harbored  no  temptations, 
and  was  a  source  of  independence  and  helpfulness. 


92  SOCIAL    TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Fourth  Day  :  Clie  Dtitp  of  (^tiwrositp  anS  Cj)0ttfl;5tfulaeB6  In 
tbe  ©ae  of  ^ealtb 

"The  Christian  rich  man  ...  is  not  hard  in  business  and  soft 
in  charity,  but  of  one  fibre  throughout.  His  business  is  a  part  of  his 
religion,  and  his  philanthropy  is  a  part  of  his  business.  He  leads 
his  life,  he  is  not  led  by  it." — Peabody. 

Matthew  xix,  21. 

Acts  xx,  35. 

Speer:    Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapters  XXH  and  XXIII. 

Peabody:   Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question,  Chapter  IV. 

Mathews  :    The  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapter  VI. 

Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  pages  315  ff. 


TEACHING   WITH  REGARD   TO    WEALTH  93 

Fourth  Day  :  C^e  2Datp  of  (StneroBitp  anti  QTIjooffbtfalJUM  in 
tl)c  ©fie  of  ^ealtl) 

The  only  justification  for  large  wealth  in  the  hands  of  a  few  is 
its  use  for  service  to  society.  It  need  not  necessarily  all  be  given 
away,  but  it  must  be  used  generously.  If  fairly  won,  by  work  and 
care,  its  very  accumulation,  giving  fair  and  honest  employment 
to  others,  should  be  regarded  as  a  reward  for  a  service  to 
society,  and  so  be  regulated  by  a  high  ideal.  The  Christian's  wealth 
is  held  only  as  a  trust,  a  means  of  service  to  others,  and,  like  all 
the  work  given  us  to  do  and  the  trusts  given  us  to  keep,  it  is  a 
means,  precarious  indeed,  as  Jesus  so  unmistakably  taught,  but  still, 
if  wisely,  humbly,  thoughtfully  employed,  a  means  of  character 
development. 

And  the  use  of  wealth  must  be  thoughtful  as  well  as  generous  if 
it  is  to  be  of  service  to  others  and  truly  helpful  to  the  owner  him- 
self. Careless  giving  may  injure  society  more  than  it  helps.  It 
may  reach  the  wrong  people  or  reach  people  in  the  wrong  way. 
It  may  be  used  to  encourage  tendencies  dangerous  to  society,  rather 
than  those  making  for  its  strength  and  righteousness.  And  the 
thoughtless  use  of  his  wealth  can  be  of  little  benefit  to  the  giver 
himself.  To  give  for  the  sake  of  giving,  for  the  glow  of  self- 
approbation  or  the  satisfaction  that  comes  from  praise,  is  the  part 
of  the  self-righteous  prig  sunning  himself  in  the  light  of  his  own 
open  charities.     "Verily    .     .     .     they  have  their  reward." 

Jesus  taught  that  we  should  give  in  a  different  manner.  The  duty 
of  wealth  is  service,  generous,  but,  to  be  truly  effective,  thoughtful, 
too,  and  wise  and  unostentatious,  and  with  the  simple  aim  of  help- 
fulness. 


94  SOCIAL   TEACHINGS   OF  JESUS 


Fifth  Day  :  Kelation  of  tlje  §)pirit  of  tlje  ^ttoer  to  tde  ©alue  of 

tlje  (J5ift 

■'For  God  weigheth  more  with  how  much  love  a  man  worketh, 
than  how  m.uch  he  doeth.  He  doeth  much  that  loveth  much." — 
Thomas  a  Kent  pis. 

Mark  xii,  41-44. 

Harnack  :    What  is  Christianity?  pages  88-102. 

Speer:     Principles   of  Jesus,    Chapters    XX,    XXI,   XXII,    XXIII, 

XXIV. 
Fairbairn  :  Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ,  page  144. 


TEACHING  WITH  REGARD  TO   WEALTH  95 

Fifth  Day  :  Etlation  of  X%t  S>ptrit  of  t!)c  (Sitoer  to  tl)e  ©altie  of 

tj)c  (Sift 

All  generosity,  to  be  really  helpful,  must  be  illuminated  by  the 
spirit  of  the  giver.  Therein  lies  the  value  of  the  gift.  Jesus  taught 
the  supreme  worth  of  the  inner  life  and  of  the  personality  of  each 
individual  human  soul.  It  was  there  that  he  planted  his  kingdom. 
It  was  there  that  he  found  the  only  power  that  was  lasting,  free, 
effective.  It  was  that  which  he  came  to  develop.  "I  am  come  that 
they  might  have  life,  and  that  they  might  have  it  more  abundantly." 
Only  upon  the  influence  of  this  inner  life  Jesus  relied  for  the  spread 
of  the  kingdom  among  men ;  only  by  the  influence  of  personality 
was  his  ideal  of  pure  life  and  self-devoting  service  to  uplift  hu- 
manity. 

Jesus  certainly  taught  generosity  in  the  use  of  wealth.  But  the 
use  of  the  power  of  wealth  alone  would  be  no  more  lastingly  effec- 
tive to  the  uplifting  of  society  than  the  use  of  that  temporal  power 
which  Jesus,  tempted  in  the  desert,  rejected  as  superficial.  It  is 
the  spirit  in  the  giver  of  helpfulness  and  of  lovingkindness  going 
with  the  gift  that,  in  realitj',  measures  its  value.  In  the  spirit  of 
the  giver  lies  the  supreme  power  for  passing  on  the  higher  ideal  of 
living  that  Jesus  brought  in  his  life  and  left  in  his  kingdom.  With 
this  spirit  left  out,  the  gift  misses  its  deepest,  because  its  personal, 
power  for  service. 

"For  the  gift  without  the  giver  is  bare; 
Who  gives  himself  with  his  alms  feeds  three, — 
Himself,  his  hungering  neighbor,  and  me." 


96  SOCIAL   TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Sixth  Day  :  ^iffiilficance  of  t^e  Comman  |)tiwe  Ecpt  6p 
^e£(n£(  anH  ^tg  £)t£iciple£( 

■'Probably  no  one  would  soberly  commit  Jesus  to  communism  be- 
cause of  Judas  and  the  bag,  and  so  far  as  any  direct  word  or  single 
act  of  his  is  concerned,  it  is  necessary  to  say  the  same.  .  .  .  Nor 
does  it  appear  that  all  the  members  of  the  church  at  Jerusalem  dis- 
posed of  their  property.  ...  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  would  seem 
that  this  sharing  of  wealth  in  Jerusalem  was  simply  an  expression  of 
natural  enthusiasm  and  Christian  love." — Shailer  Mathews. 

John  xiii,  29. 

Stevens  :   The  Teachings  of  Jesus,  page  122. 
Schmidt  :    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  page  271. 
Mathews:  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapters  I,  V. 


TEACHING   WITH  REGARD   TO    WEALTH  97 

Sixth  Day  :  S^tffnificancc  of  X\)t  Common  |)ardc  iSicpt  |)p 
%t6Viti  anU  |)i6  ^icciples 

It  is  often  argiied  that  because  Jesus  and  his  disciples  kept  a 
common  purse  Jesus  advocated  communism,  and  that  the  inference 
from  his  life  and  his  teachings  is  for  a  communistic  or  a  socialistic 
state.  That  is  a  mistake.  The  keeping  of  the  common  purse  was 
not  original  with  the  early  Christians ;  it  was  a  custom  of  the 
Essenes,  a  strong  and  well-known  Jewish  sect  of  the  time.  With 
them  often,  doubtless,  just  as  it  would  be  now  in  the  case  of  a 
small  body  of  men  living  in  similar  circumstances,  engaged  in  a 
common  business  in  which  all  were  intensely  interested,  and  all  well 
acquainted  and  friendly,  it  was  the  simplest  way  in  which  to  manage 
the  finances.  A  similar  plan  is  often  adopted  today  by  people  trav- 
eling together,  each  giving  the  money  for  his  expenses  into  the 
hands  of  a  common  treasurer,  the  trouble  and  inconvenience  of 
making  living  arrangements  being  thus  lessened  for  all.  For  the 
little  band  of  disciples  the  common  purse  was  the  most  convenient 
way  of  managing. 

Again,  Jesus  seldom,  if  ever,  laid  down  rules  for  the  application 
of  his  principles.  That  was  left  for  the  determination  of  time 
and  circumstance  and  for  the  decision  of  the  individual  conscience. 
All  would  depend  on  what  would  bring  best  social  results  at  the 
time.  Jesus  appears  never  to  have  felt  that  any  one  application 
of  his  principles  was  to  be  a  model  of  universal  import  and  for  all 
times.  His  knowledge  of  the  infinite  variousness  of  human  life  and 
his  conception  of  the  kingdom  as  a  growing  spiritual  life  among 
men,  precluded  any  such  definiteness.  He  was  a  moral  teacher. 
His  social  principles  were  utimately  to  be  the  spiritual  basis  of  right 
government  and  of  a  perfect  social  state,  but  these  social  principles 
were  individual — the  duty  of  service  and  of  making  each  life  a  study 
of  perfection. 


98  SOCIAL    TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Seventh  Day:  Ecljietn 

1.  How  far  is  wealth  usually  a  help,  how  far  a  hindrance  to  a 
college  student? 

2.  Do  Jesus'  invectives  against  wealth  apply  to  wealth  alone? 

3.  Why  is  it  so  difficult  to  strive  at  the  same  time  for  wealth 
and  spiritual  excellence? 

4.  What  qualities  are  necessary  to  make  wealth  other  than  a 
curse  to  the  owner? 

5.  What  qualities  make  the  possession  of  wealth  of  service  to 
society? 

6.  Under  what  conditions  must  we  decline  to  seek  wealth? 

7.  How  and  when  did  Jesus  commend  thrift? 

8.  Why  is  thrift  commendable? 

9.  How  can  a  man  give  liberally  and  yet  help  neither  the  recipient 
nor  himself? 

10.  What  teaching  of  Jesus  would,  if  followed,  keep  the  giver 
from  becoming  self-righteous  over  his  benevolence? 

11.  How  only  can  giving  be  helpful  to  the  growth  of  the  king- 
dom? 

12.  What  was  the  significance  of  the  common  purse  kept  by  Jesus 
and  his  disciples?  Why  was  Jesus'  teaching  or  living  not  an  advo- 
cacy of  socialism  or  communism? 


STUDY  VIII 

Jesus'  Attitude  toward  the  Poor 

"Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will 
give  you  rest." — Matthew  xi,  28. 


100  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


First  Day  :  STcfittS*  ^pntpat?)?  for  t^t  pnor 

"Are  not  two  sparrows  sold  for  a  penny?  and  not  one  of  them 
shall  fall  to  the  ground  without  your  Father  .  .  .  Fear  not 
therefore ;  ye  are  of  more  value  than  many  sparrows." — Matthew 
X,  29,  31. 

"If  any  man  have  an  hundred  sheep,  and  one  of  them  be  gone 
astray,  doth  he  not  leave  the  ninety  and  nine,  and  go  unto  the  moun- 
tains and  seek  that  which  goeth  astray?     .     .     . 

Even  so  it  is  not  the  will  of  your  Father  who  is  in  heaven 
ihat  one  of  these  little  ones  should  perish." — Matthew  xviii,  12,  14. 

Matthew  viii,  19,  20;  xi,  4,  5. 

Mark  viii,  1-9. 

Luke  vi,  20-24;  xvi,  19-31- 

Harnack  :    What  is  Christianity,  pages  88-102. 

Speer:    The  Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapter  XXI. 

Rhees  :    The  Life  of  Jesus  of  Nasnreth,  Part  III,  Chapter  I. 

Stalker  :    The  Life  of  Jesus  Christ,  pages  133,  134- 


ATTITUDE    TOWARD    THE   POOR  loi 

First  Day  :  *^tmi>'  S»pmpat()p  for  tlje  poor 

Jesus  had  a  boundless  sympathy  for  the  poor.  He  had  seen  the 
rich,  but  he  himself  was  always  poor.  He  felt  pity  for  all  suffering; 
but  in  Jesus'  time  and  in  his  eastern  country,  poverty  was  not  as 
it  is  with  us.  Because  of  the  warm  climate  and  the  very  simple 
habits  of  the  people,  to  sustain  life  was  a  much  easier  problem. 
For  those  willing  and  industrious,  food  and  shelter  were  seldom 
difficult  to  obtain,  and  the  Jewish  race  was  then,  as  now,  indus- 
trious and  singularly  free  from  the  pauper  spirit.  The  poor  whom 
Jesus  knew  were  chiefly  the  blind,  deaf,  crippled,  and  those  in  such 
bodily  affliction  that  they  could  not  work  to  sustain  even  their 
simple  wants.  Practically  all  the  poor  with  whom  Jesus  had  to 
deal  were  worthy  of  his  loving  care  and  sympathy. 

Sensitive  to  sorrows  of  every  kind,  he  sought  to  relieve  them; 
but  his  supreme  effort  was  to  teach  those  who  followed  him  that 
the  soul  was  able  to  rise  above  circumstances.  However  painful 
the  ills  of  the  body,  those  of  the  soul  were  much  more  blighting, 
and  a  right  heart  was  more  to  be  desired  than  riches.  However 
poor  and  humble  in  sight  of  the  world  each  individual  follower 
might  be,  Jesus  gave  him  entrance  into  a  kingdom  where,  irre- 
spective of  poverty  and  suffering,  he  might,  thru  his  own  right- 
ness  of  heart,  and  thru  the  loving  grace  of  the  Father,  come  to  be 
the  friend  of  the  Highest. 


102  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Second  Day  :  <3tntvo6it^  CommcnUeU  CI){cflp  for  its  ©ffcct 
tipon  tl}t  (Siter 

"The  chief  happiness  of  man  consists  in  the  performance  of  the 
duties  peculiar  to  man ;  .  .  .  one  of  the  principal  of  these  is 
benevolence  toward  our  fellow  creatures." — Marcus  Aurelius. 

Matthew  v,  40-42;  vi,  1-4;  x,  42;  xix,  16-32. 

Mark  x,  29-31. 

Luke  xiv,  12-14;  ii,  10-14. 

Speer  :    Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapters  XXII  and  XXIII. 

Harnack  :    What  is  Christianity?  pages  88-102. 

Peabody  :   Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question,  Chapter  V. 

Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  pages  315  flF. 


ATTITUDE    TOWARD    THE   POOR  103 

Second  Day  -.(Btntvatiit^  ComraenUrti  Cljieflp  for  its  dtZttt 
upon  tl)c  (3ititt 

As  a  rule,  Jesus'  exhortations  to  give  are  for  the  sake  of  the 
giver.  He  in  no  case  urges  it  directly  for  the  sake  of  society,  rarely 
for  the  sake  of  the  recipient.  The  giver  should  be  generous  and 
helpful  and  kindly.  His  aim  must  be  service  and  his  heart  is  to 
be  enlarged  by  sympathy  and  insight  in  the  search  for  that  gift 
which  will  be  most  truly  helpful.  A  service  rendered  with  the 
expectation  of  a  return  service,  a  gift  sent  in  repayment  for  one 
received,  entertainment  provided  in  anticipation  of  social  compen- 
sation or  advancement,  is  no  real  service,  and  of  no  real  help  to 
the  giver.  The  payment  of  social  "debts"  is  not  a  giving  in  the 
biblical  sense.  In  order  that  the  gift  may  be  of  genuine  benefit  to 
the  giver,  he  must  make  it  with  thought  of  self  lost  sight  of  in 
sympathetic  thought  of  the  needs  of  others. 

The  giving  to  the  poor  enjoined  upon  Jesus'  disciples  and  fol- 
lowers meant  much  more  than  the  relieving  of  bodily  discomforts. 
Jesus  gave  himself.  He  gave  sympath)'  and  love  and,  thru  his  per- 
fect life,  a  high  ideal  of  living  of  which  we  are  all  in  need.  And 
this  larger  generosity  is  the  Christian's  part. 


104  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Third  Day:  ST^Btts'  |Jo\)ertj>  in  no  ^ap  Cncouraseg  ■^Scfffftns 

"The  laborer  is  worthy  of  his  hire." 

Matthew  xxv,  1-13,  14-30. 

Luke  x,  3-12. 

Speer:    Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapter  XXXII. 

Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  pages  376  ff. 

Mathews  :    The  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapter  VI. 


ATTITUDE    TOWARD    THE   POOR  105 

Third  Day  :  ^cbub'  poticrtp  in  no  l^ap  ©ncottraffCB  ^cffffiiiff 

The  poverty  of  Jesus  and  his  disciples  gives  no  countenance  to 
the  shiftless  beggar.  Jesus  and  the  disciples  were  workingmen, 
each  with  a  trade  or  calling  that  he  had  industriously  followed 
until  the  time  came  when  each  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  follow  the 
call  of  the  larger  work.  The  labor  of  the  carpenter's  shop  or  of 
the  fishing  boat  was  obviously  a  service  to  society,  and  for  it  living 
wages  were  paid  by  society.  In  the  infinitely  greater  work  of 
bringing  food  for  thought  and  for  higher  living,  was  not  the  laborer 
worthy  of  his  hire — in  this  case  the  merely  necessary  food  and 
shelter  of  a  frugal  life? 

The  Buddhist  priests  in  another  land,  before  Jesus'  time,  had 
been  so  supported,  going  about  daily  from  house  to  house  with  the 
bowl  into  which  each  family  put  a  morsel  of  its  own  food  to  fur- 
nish the  meal  of  the  priests.  Our  ministers  are  today  supported 
on  the  same  principle,  tho  it  is  not  now  given  in  so  crude  a  fashion. 

Far  from  encouraging  the  beggar,  Jesus  favored  wages  in  re- 
turn for  service.  He  taught  activity  in  useful  work,  and  the 
utmost  use  of  talents  for  service  to  society.  In  his  parables,  sloth- 
fulness  and  lack  of  foresight  are  condemned ;  and  in  his  teaching 
of  the  imperative  duty  of  service  to  others,  there  is  no  room  for 
the  beggar  who  would  get  his  living  from  the  efforts  of  his  fellows 
without  effort  for  them  in  return. 


io6  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Fourth  Day  :  Slfiifiistanre  ;paj>  Wt\l  fie  3lccepteU  unUcr 
proper  ConUitionfii 

"It  may  also  fall  out,  that  each  one's  opinion  may  be  good,  but  to 
refuse  to  yield  to  others  when  reason  or  a  special  cause  requireth 
it,  is  a  sign  of  pride  and  stiffness." — Thomas  a  Kempis. 

Luke  viii,  3. 

Stevens:    The  Teachings  of  Jesus,  pages  137,  138. 
Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Nasarcih,  page  271., 
Hyde:   From  Epicurus  to  Christ,  Chapter  V. 


ATTITUDE    TOWARD    THE   POOR  107 

Fourth  Day  :  Slfifitetance  iHap  WtW  ht  Slcccpteti  untjcc 
|)ropci:  Conlitttong 

Tho  Jesus'  emphasis  upon  individual  responsibility  is  also  an 
emphasis  upon  independence,  and  tho  his  teaching  in  life  and  word 
is  of  pay  only  in  return  for  service,  yet  he  taught  no  pride  in 
financial  independence  for  its  own  sake.  Our  independent  judg- 
ment was  to  be  for  the  sake  of  higher  life  and  more  effective  ser- 
vice; our  independence  and  thrift  in  living  was  to  be  for  the  sake 
of  surer  helpfulness  in  society.  Our  pride  should  not  interfere  with 
our  helpfulness. 

Jesus  and  his  disciples  allowed  certain  people  to  "minister  unto 
them  of  their  substance"  that  their  larger  work  might  go  on  without 
interruption  and  humanity  have  the  knowledge  of  the  kingdom. 
Often  it  happens  that  the  receipt  of  a  gift  or  a  loan  may  enable  a 
man  to  go  on  in  a  work  highly  useful  to  society,  or  by  such  means 
it  may  be  obviously  best  for  him  to  go  on  in  preparation  for  his 
own  life-work.  A  pride  that  considered  first  his  own  immediate 
feelings  would  make  him  no  better  a  man  and  no  more  useful  a 
member  of  society.  The  main  thing  is  to  be  sure  of  the  usefulness 
of  the  work  and  of  one's  personal  fitness  for  it,  whether  the  aid  be 
a  university  fellowship,  the  gift  of  a  friend,  or  the  self-sacrificing 
devotion  of  a  near  relative.  The  right  attitude  is  that  which  Jesus 
always  took — seeking  the  best  means  of  service. 


io8  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Fifth  Day  :  Slttttotie  totoarB  |)ppon:itee  anU  iFrautis 

"Woe  unto  you.  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites !  for  ye  are 
like  unto  whited  sepulchres,  which  outwardly  appear  beautiful,  but 
inwardly  are  full  of  dead  men's  bones." — Matthew  xxiii,  27. 

Matthew  xxiii,  13. 

John  iv,  17,  18. 

Rhees  :    The  Life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Part  III,  Chapter  II. 

Peabody:  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question,  pages  264  fif. 


ATTITUDE    TOWARD    THE   POOR  109 

Fifth  Day  :  3lttttutie  totoart  ^ppocriUd  anU  iFrautiB 

Jesus  taught  sympathy  and  generosity.  His  tenderness  and  love 
and  pity  were  deep  and  passionate,  but  it  was  the  love  and  pity  of 
a  wise  man,  strong  to  help  and  strong  to  denounce  injury.  His  atti- 
tude was  never  an  encouragement  to  fraud;  his  insight  was  too 
keen.  Always  strong  and  helpful,  his  sympathy  had  in  it  no 
weakness.  The  Pharisees  coming  to  him  with  smooth  questions 
could  not  entrap  him;  the  dissimulation  of  the  Samaritan  woman 
at  the  well  did  not  deceive  him;  and  against  the  hypocrites,  out- 
wardly righteous  in  observance  of  all  the  minutiae  of  the  law,  but 
sinful  and  wilfully  blind  at  heart,  the  vehemence  of  his  denuncia- 
tions knew  no  bounds. 

In  the  days  of  Jesus,  poverty  was  not  so  often  made  a  cloak  for 
fraud  as  it  is  with  us.  Seldom  among  the  thrifty  and  industrious 
Hebrews  did  it  signify  only  an  unwillingness  to  do  one's  share  in 
the  world's  work.  To  encourage  this  attitude  is  no  help  to  others, 
but  rather  an  injury  both  to  society  and  to  the  beggar  himself.  Our 
service  in  our  giving  should  be  clear-eyed  and  wise,  that  it  may 
be  helpful  to  society. 


no  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Sixth  Day  :  Selfie^ncfis  not  to  be  (^vtn&tti  bp  jFcar  of  iFratiU 

"I  was  afraid  and  went  away  and  hid  thy  talent  in  the  earth. 
.  .  .  But  his  Lord  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Thou  wicked  and 
slothful  servant." — Matthew  xxv,  25,  26. 

"Half  of  these  stories  about  the  prodigious  fortunes  made  by  beg- 
ging are  (I  verily  believe)  misers'  calumnies." — Charles  Lamb. 

Matthew  xxv,  41-46. 

Luke  x,  30-37. 

Stevens  :    The  Teachings  of  Jesus,  Chapter  XL 

Peabody:    Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question,  Chapter  V. 

Mathews:    The  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapter  VL 


ATTITUDE   TOWARD   THE  POOR  lit 

Sixth  Day  :  §)cIfi£(()neBB  not  to  ie  (Ej:cttBcH  bp  jFear  of  JFrauti 

To  make  our  service  in  giving  more  effective,  and  to  guard  our- 
selves against  fraudulent  poverty,  we  have  our  Associated  Charities. 
Their  business  it  is  to  investigate  all  cases  of  distress  and  to  keep 
record  of  habitual  paupers — investigations  that  we,  individually,  have 
neither  time  nor  opportunity  to  make.  To  give  money  to  these 
organizations  is  often  the  easiest,  simplest,  and  most  effective  way 
of  giving  to  the  poor.  But  too  often  by  that  mere  giving  we  feel 
our  consciences  relieved  and  the  burden  of  personal  responsibility 
shifted;  and  we  often  do  not  wish  to  be  bothered  further. 

The  selfishness  of  such  an  attitude  is  apparent.  We  have  no  right 
to  shift  responsibility.  Many  cases  call  for  the  tenderness  and  deli- 
cacy of  one  who  will  act  as  a  friend,  with  no  hint  of  the  agent  about 
him;  and  neither  in  connection  with  the  Boards  of  Charity  nor 
without  them,  is  our  chance  for  personal  service,  for  sympathetic 
insight,  for  growth,  to  be  lightly  set  aside.  Only  thru  personal  ser- 
vice was  the  kingdom  to  grow.  Only  thru  personal  service  can  the 
sympathies  deepen  and  character  develop.  If  we  harden  our  hearts 
and  shift  our  responsibilities,  our  chance  for  growth  is  going,  and 
we  are  but  as  the  Pharisees. 


112  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Seventh  Day:  Eebieto 

How  did  poverty  in  Palestine  in  the  time  of  Christ  differ  from 
that  in  our  own  times  and  country? 

2.  For  whose  sake  was  giving  commended? 

3.  How  far  are  university  scholarships  and  fellowships  injurious 
to  students  and  to  universities?    How  far  beneficial? 

4.  Does  Jesus'  example  teach  that  we  should  not  seek  to  avoid 
poverty? 

5.  How  did  Jesus  encourage  the  independent  spirit  that  looks  for 
pay  only  for  services  rendered? 

6.  When  is  independence  not  a  Christian  virtue? 

7.  What  would  Jesus'  attitude  toward  fraudulent  poverty  be?  Does 
"Give  to  him  that  asketh"  mean  that  we  should  give  to  every  beggar 
without  investigating  his  needs? 

8.  What  was  his  attitude  toward  the  frauds  and  insincerities  that 
he  met  in  Palestine? 

9.  How  may  the  Associated  Charities  aid  the  Christian's  personal 
life? 

10.  How  may  charity  associations  become  an  injury  to  the  Chris- 
tian's personal  life? 

11.  For  what  cases  are  the  organizations  obviously  insufficient? 

12.  Why  are  the  poor  always  with  us? 


STUDY  IX 

Jesus'  Views  Regarding  Crime  and  the  Treatment  of  Criminals 

"Love  your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  do  good  to  them 
that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  that  despitefully  use  you,  and  per- 
secute yo.u." — Matthew  v,  44. 


114  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


First  Day  :  g^iffnificance  of  S^esttfi'  5Dirtttm  act  to  lenKins:  anK 

"Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself." — Matthew  xix,  19. 

Matthew  v.  7,  40-42. 

Luke  vi,  29-33. 

Harnack:    What  is  Christianity  f  pages  88-102. 

Peabody:  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Social  Question,  pages  226-267. 

Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  pages  305  and  374  ff. 


CRIME  AND   THE   TREATMENT  OF  CRIMINALS    115 

First  Day  :  S)i3;ntficancc  of  "St^vrn*  Z)utam  aci  to  LcnUing;  anS 

Just  as  the  teachings  of  Jesus  in  regard  to  the  alleviation  of  the 
sufferings  of  the  poor  must  be  interpreted  thru  an  understanding 
of  the  underlying  principles  and  ultimate  aim  of  his  life-work  and 
not  by  a  literal  interpretation  of  isolated  statements,  so  is  this 
especially  true  of  his  teachings  in  regard  to  the  treatment  of  crime 
and  criminals.  His  injunctions  as  to  giving,  vigorous  in  style  as 
his  speech  always  was,  furnish  no  encouragement  to  fraud  or  crime 
thru  blind  charity,  nor  to  the  shiftless  dependence  inevitably  blight- 
ing to  character — nor  to  an  attitude,  on  the  part  of  the  giver,  ignor- 
ing such  conditions.  Jesus'  social  teaching  was  genuine  helpful- 
ness. 

What  he  wished  to  inculcate  was  a  spirit  of  generosity  and  mercy 
and  kindliness,  a  spirit  that  would  make  one  willing,  if  need  were, 
to  sacrifice  the  last  coat  and  last  penny.  His  teaching  was  of  a  wise 
helpfulness,  a  generosity  to  do  all  in  one's  power  to  put  the  bor- 
rower in  a  position  in  reality  best  for  him — perhaps  lending  in  such  a 
way  as  to  preserve  all  the  manliness  of  perfect  independence  and  un- 
impaired self-respect;  and  in  case  of  the  beggar,  generosity  in 
personal  effort,  at  whatever  cost,  to  raise  him  to  a  higher  sense 
of  responsible  manhood;  perhaps  giving  not  at  all,  but  helping  him 
to  earn. 

As  Jesus'  preaching  against  the  love  of  money  was  an  arraign- 
ment of  all  forms  of  selfish  indulgence,  so  his  appeal  to  generosity 
meant  much  more  than  mere  liberality  in  the  use  of  money.  His 
followers  were  to  be  generous  in  sympathy,  in  effort,  in  friendship. 
The  sense  of  brotherhood  was  to  be  made  manifest  by  thoughtful 
kindliness  and  an  accommodating,  forgiving  and  considerate  spirit. 
This  was  the  Christian  charity — a  method  of  helping  the  beggar 
and  the  dependent  that  was  not  superficial,  but  that  always  sought 
the  heart  of  the  trouble;  and  the  spirit  of  his  teaching  regarding 
crime,  as  we  shall  see,  was  similar. 


ii6  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Second  Day  :  Siffnificatuc  of  ^is  dictum  of  "  ^uH^  JBot " 

"Turn  thine  eyes  unto  thyself,  and  beware  thou  judge  not  the 
deeds  of  other  men.  In  judging  others  a  man  laboureth  in  vain, 
often  erreth,  and  easily  sinneth ;  but  in  judging  and  discussing  of 
himself,  he  always  labours  fruitfully." — Thomas  a  Kempis. 

Matthew  vii,  1-5. 

Romans  xiv,  10. 

Harnack:    What  is  Christianity?  pages  102-117. 

Peabody:   Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  pages  156-166, 

Schmidt:   The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  pages  366  ff. 


CRIME  AND   THE    TREATMENT  OF  CRIMINALS    117 

Second  Day:  Significance  of  5)i6  £)ictttm  of  ♦♦STuUffc  JRot" 

Jesus'  command,  "Judge  not,"  must  be  interpreted  in  the  same 
broad  way.  His  teaching  was  not  that  we  must  dispense  with  courts 
of  law,  safeguards  for  society  against  the  socially  destructive  forces 
of  unrestrained  ignorance  and  vice  or  the  disintegrating  power  of 
selfishness.  In  each  life  the  last  penalties  of  evil-doing  will  be 
exacted  and  the  sources  of  joy  narrowed  as  the  result  of  selfish- 
ness; those  are  the  judgments  passed  upon  each  man  by  his  own 
nature  for  a  violation  of  that  nature's  laws.  But  for  society  at  its 
present  stage,  to  conserve  the  world's  social  growth  already  attained, 
the  restraints  of  government  are,  beyond  question,  necessary.  So- 
ciety must  discriminate  against  its  adversaries,  and  a  careful  study 
of  the  life  of  Jesus  makes  it  clear  that  he  recognized  this  fact. 

In  individual  life,  Jesus  in  his  command  against  passing  judg- 
ment did  not  mean  that  we  were  to  be  indiscriminating  in  our 
attitude  toward  others.  Rather,  to  reason  by  his  example,  such 
discrimination  was  to  be  a  source  of  strength  and  helpfulness ;  for 
it  is  ours  to  recognize  real  friends  whose  personality  brings  out 
what  in  ourselves  is  noblest  and  best,  and  to  see  in  others  those 
traits  whose  influence  we  must  guard  against  and  those  weaknesses 
that  call  to  us  for  help. 

Jesus  taught  that  we  should  not  be  narrow,  unsympathetic,  arro- 
gant, fault-finding,  judging  others  to  be  wrong  or  hypocritical  be- 
cause they  are  not  like  ourselves ;  that  we  are  to  seek  first  to  over- 
come our  own  defects,  to  attend  first  to  our  own  duties.  Thru 
example  comes  the  most  effective  teaching;  thru  appreciation  of  the 
good  implanted  in  each  human  heart  comes  most  real  helpfulness. 
When  Christian  principles  have  made  life  perfect,  then  will  dis- 
crimination of  character  be  only  appreciation  of  the  various  qualities 
of  good,  and  courts  of  law  will  be  unused — as  they  are  now  for 
those  who  have  outgrown  the  need  of  them. 


n8  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Third  Day  :  Crime  from  t\\t  iHoral  ?9ietopoint 

"I  say  unto  you,  that  every  one  who  is  angry  with  his  brother 
shall  be  in  danger  of  the  judgment,  and  whosoever  shall  say  to  his 
brother,  Raca,  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  council ;  and  whosoever 
shall  say,  Thou  fool,  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  hell  of  fire." — 
Matthezv  v,  22. 

"But  the  things  which  proceed  out  of  the  mouth  come  forth  out 
of  the  heart;  and  they  defile  the  man." — Matthew  xv,  18. 

Matthew  v,  21-32;  xv,  11-20. 

Mark  vii,  1-23. 

Speer:    The  Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapters  V  and  XL. 

Peabody  :    Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  Chapter  III. 

Hyde:  From  Epicurus  to  Christ,  pages  218  ff. 


CRIME  AND   THE   TREATMENT  OF  CRIMINALS    119 
Third  Day  :  Crime  from  tljc  Jfloral  ©ietopaint 

Jesus'  attitude  toward  crime  was  that  of  the  great  moral  teacher, 
seeking  its  causes  in  the  sinful  states  of  mind  and  habits  of  thought 
and  perverseness  of  heart  that  produced  it.  The  essence  of  crime, 
even  in  our  laws,  lies  in  intention ;  and,  back  of  the  immediate 
intention,  he  saw  in  it  the  condition  of  a  soul  that  had  not  put 
itself  into  harmony  with  God  and  his  righteousness.  , 

Back  of  appearances  is  the  man  himself,  the  man  whom  Jesus' 
keen  insight  so  clearly  searched.  The  waywardness  of  his  heart 
may,  thru  impulsiveness  and  lack  of  self-control,  reveal  itself  in 
action,  injuring  society  outright  and  leading  to  his  punishment.  Or 
it  may  be  checked  by  other  traits  of  character,  by  wariness  or  pride 
or  ambition,  and  so  be  confined  to  hateful  thoughts  and  shameful 
imaginings.  Thus  it  may  never  inflict  even  noticeable  injury  upon 
society;  but  with  the  sureness  of  disease,  it  reacts  upon  the  man's 
own  heart,  weakening  noble  impulses,  making  him  cynical  of  good- 
ness and  purity  and  distrustful  of  his  fellows,  blinding  his  sight 
to  fine  distinctions  of  right  and  wrong,  and  rendering  him  incapable 
of  recognizing  worth  in  forms  apart  from  the  old  religious  cere- 
monials or  social  creeds,  while  his  faith  in  them  has  been  lost.  Such 
a  man  has  not  the  vision  of  the  pure  in  heart,  and  cannot  see 
God. 

Whether  such  sin  in  the  heart  reveals  itself  in  criminal  acts,  or 
remains  covered  to  the  eyes  of  the  world,  according  to  the  teachings 
of  Jesus  the  man  who  is  not  struggling  with  it  is  consenting  to 
the  death  of  his  own  soul — is  losing  his  chance  for  character  growth 
and  for  service  to  society. ' 


120  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Fourth  Day  :  Ci)e  |)uni6binent  of  Crime  attU  "Stm^*  jTorffibe* 
ne£({(  of  Stn 

"As  thou  hast  done,  it  shall  be  done  unto  thee;  thy  dealing  shall 
return  upon  thine  own  head." — Obadiah  i,  15. 

"Neither  do  I  condemn  thee;  go  thy  way;  from  henceforth  sin  no 
more." — John  viii,  11. 

Matthew  ix,  1-8. 

Luke  vii,  36-50. 

John  viii,  3-11. 

Speer  :    Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapter  XI. 

Mathews  :    Social  Teaching  of  Jesus  Christ,  Chapter  V. 

Harnack:    What  is  Christianity  f  pages  102-117. 


CRIME  AND   THE   TREATMENT  OF  CRIMINALS    121 

Fourth  Day:  CI)e  pttntsljmcnt  of  Crime  anU  ^tans'  Jorffibe-- 
neSE!  of  ^tn 

That  Jesus  should  presume  to  forgive  sins  may  have  seemed,  per- 
haps, to  those  of  his  day  not  merely  blasphemy,  but  also  a  dangerous 
interference  with  the  social  order.  But  the  forgiveness  of  sins  is  a 
very  different  matter  from  the  canceling  of  social  punishment  of 
crime.  The  latter  would  be  a  weakening  of  those  safeguarding  bar- 
riers that  society  has  erected  to  preserve  itself  and  its  previous 
growth.  The  pardoning  of  crime  (a  violation  of  the  law  of  the 
state)  is  a  social  matter,  a  matter  for  organized  society,  for  the  state, 
for  governments ;  and  Jesus  did  not  interfere  with  governments. 
Jesus'  forgiveness  of  sin  (a  violation  of  the  divine  law)  was  not 
social,  but  personal. 

His  forgiveness  did  not  cancel  results;  it  furnished  a  basis  for 
right  living.  The  results  of  sin  are  inevitable  from  the  very  nature 
of  man  and  from  his  naturally  complex  relation  with  society.  For 
putting  ourselves  into  discord  with  society,  for  disregarding  the  laws 
of  the  state — which  disregard  constitutes  crime — the  social  penalty 
must  be  paid.  Thru  the  payment  the  man  may  be  made  a  better 
citizen,  or  he  may  not ;  but  even  if  he  is  not  improved,  society  may 
be  safeguarded  by  his  punishment.  By  sin  a  man  puts  himself  out 
of  harmony  with  God's  laws,  out  of  sympathy  with  the  good,  out 
of  the  line  of  development  which  is  life.  And  Jesus'  forgiveness 
of  sin  signified  not  an  annulling  of  its  social  results,  but  the  estab- 
lishment or  resumption  of  right  relations  with  God,  with  the  forces 
of  truth,  and  purity,  and  goodness,  bringing  him  into  harmony 
with  God,  hence  into  a  state  of  mind  and  heart  that  will  develop 
the  better  man,  and,  in  consequence,  the  better  citizen. 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Fifth  Day  :  9ltm  in  ibt  treatment  of  Criminals 

"Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 
— John  iii,  3. 

"He  doeth  well  that  rather  serveth  the  community  than  his  own 
will." — Thomas  a  Kempis. 

Luke  xix,  i-io. 

John  iii,  3. 

Fairbairn  :    Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ,    pages  145-148.  , 

Peabody:    Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  Chapter  III. 

Harnack:    What  is  Christianity?  pages  63-70. 

Hyde:    From  Epicurus  to  Christ,  Chapter  V. 

Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  pages  302,  311,  365,  366. 


CRIME  AND   THE   TREATMENT  OF  CRIMINALS    123 
Fifth  Day  :  Slim  in  t|)e  Crcatmcnt  of  Critninala 

Criminal  punishment  by  the  state  is,  in  the  present  stage  of  social 
growth,  still  emphatically  necessary.  But  in  protecting  society  as 
a  whole  from  its  lawless  elements,  we  are  coming  more  and  more  to 
recognize  the  spirit  of  reform,  the  Christian  method  of  conversion 
to  a  higher  ideal  of  living,  as  the  only  right  and  effective  way  in 
which  to  deal  with  the  criminal. 

In  the  first  place,  the  criminal  must  recognize  the  real  attitude  of 
the  state  toward  himself.  He  should  be  taught  to  realize  the  exist- 
ence of  those  principles  of  social  growth  whose  progress  he  has 
been  seeking  to  thwart;  to  understand  that  society  must  ever  seek 
to  protect  itself  against  all  anti-social  forces ;  that  his  punishment 
is  not  for  revenge,  but  for  the  preservation  of  society ;  to  see  that 
the  individual  life  set  against  the  current  of  social  forces  must 
always  be  at  bitter  war  and  finally  come  to  naught,  and  that  the 
life  working  in  harmony  with  law  finds  there  protection  and  all  the 
chance  for  freedom  and  growth  that  society  has  to  offer. 

Deeper,  however,  than  this  social  opportunism,  this  belief  that  to 
live  in  agreement  with  social  forces  is,  on  the  whole,  the  best  way 
to  get  along  and  keep  out  of  trouble,  must  be  a  conviction  as  to 
ultimate  values.  In  order  to  effect  a  true  reform,  the  criminal  must 
be  brought  to  feel  and  respect  that  rightness  at  the  heart  of  things 
which  is  the  motive  power  of  all  growth,  whether  social  or  individual. 
To  make  the  trustworthy  citizen,  the  man  must  be  convinced  of 
the  real  worth  of  right  living.  Thru  the  teaching  of  useful  trades, 
thru  systems  of  unfettered  and  wisely  led  discussions  on  social  and 
ethical  topics,  and  thru  the  influence  of  men  of  high  character  at 
their  heads,  prisons  and  reformatories  can,  and  in  some  cases  already 
do,  reach  out  toward  the  true  reform,  that  of  the  heart.  Only  in 
this  way  can  anti-social  forces  be  converted  into  energy  for  the 
growth  of  the  state,  and  of  "the  kingdom." 


124  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Sixth  Day  :  ^tenn*  fSltt^tUfi  of  ©bercomiiiff  ^tiil 

"Either  make  the  tree  good,  and  its  fruit  good;  or  make  the  tree 
corrupt,  and  its  fruit  corrupt :  for  the  tree  is  known  by  its  fruit." — 
Matthew  xii,  3S- 

Matthew  v,  38-48. 

Luke  vi,  27,  28. 

Fairbairn  :   Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ,  pages  135  and  146. 

HiLLis :   Influence  of  Christ  in  Modern  Life,  Chapter  II. 

Mathews  :    The  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapter  IX. 

Harnack:   What  is  Christianity  f  pages  63-70. 


CRIME  AND   THE   TREATMENT  OF  CRIMINALS    125 
Sixth  Day  :  STccub'  JRetboUs  of  ©ijercomlnff  etoil 

The  forms  of  government  and  the  methods  employed  by  society 
to  maintain  itself  are  specific  applications  of  the  wisdom,  and,  per- 
haps, of  the  ethical  sense  of  humanity.  In  them  Jesus,  the  great 
moral  teacher,  had  little  immediate  interest ;  his  aim  was  to  bring 
humanity  to  the  adoption  of  higher  underlying  principles,  to  deeper, 
truer  wisdom  and  a  purer  ethical  sense,  an  aim  only  to  be  accom- 
plished thru  personal  influence.  His  message,  therefore,  was  mainly 
not  to  society  but  to  the  individual. 

However  society  might  deal  with  crime,  Jesus'  message  to  the 
individual  regarding  the  treatment  of  evil  was  in  accordance  with 
a  method  more  deeply  efficacious  than  mere  physical  control.  He 
was  speaking  to  his  followers  regarding  their  personal  acts.  He 
probably  did  not  consider  the  state  or  government ;  he  considered, 
rather,  practical  dealings  among  themselves,  and  especially  the 
growth  of  the  right  spirit  in  each  one  of  his  followers.  In  social 
life,  even  tho  the  evil-doer  be  physically  conquered,  the  evil  in  his 
heart  may  still  be  alive,  perhaps  nourished  by  the  suspicion  of  a 
spirit  of  anger  or  of  revenge  in  his  conqueror. 

But  Jesus'  method  leaves  no  room  for  such  suspicions.  Evil  is 
to  be  overcome  by  kindness  and  generosity  and  mercy.  "Love  your 
enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  do  good  to  them  that  hate  you, 
and  pray  for  them  that  despitefully  use  you  and  persecute  you" 
(Matthew  v,  44).  The  true  and  the  good  are  to  be  so  placed  before 
the  eyes  of  the  evil-doer  that  their  contrast  with  lower  motives  may 
be  convincingly  evident,  and  the  man  be  led  to  make  his  own  free 
choice,  to  conquer  his  worse  self.  Evil  will  be  thus,  and  only  thus, 
really  conquered.  Jesus'  dictum  of  non-resistance  to  evil,  given 
to  his  followers,  in  preparation  for  their  work  for  the  growth  of 
the  kingdom,  only  recognized  the  tremendous  fact  that  the  struggle 
between  good  and  evil  is  in  the  individual  heart,  that  each  man  must 
himself  take  the  initiative  for  the  better  life.  To  help  the  good 
to  conquer  in  that  struggle  there  is  but  one  way  for  the  follower 
:>{  Jesus — 60  to  live  that,  thru  his  living,  a  vision  of  mercy  and 
kindness  and  purity  and  all  goodness  may  become  for  the  human  soul 
chat  has  the  struggle  to  make,  clear  and  glorious,  winning  and  con- 
vincing; that  in  the  white  light  of  the  vision,  evil  may  appear  but 
what  it  is,  dust  and  ashes  and  death. 


126  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 

Seventh  Day:  EebietD 

1.  In  his  teachings  regarding  giving,  did  Jesus  have  in  mind  pri- 
marily the  effect  upon  the  giver  or  upon  the  recipient? 

2.  What  does  Jesus  mean  by  generosity?  Is  it  more  generous 
to  give  a  beggar  a  quarter  or  to  spend  some  hours  looking  up  his 
real  needs :  to  deliver  him  to  the  police,  if  that  is  his  desert ;  to  give 
him  work,  if  he  needs  that? 

3.  Does  Jesus  teach  that  we  should  not  try  to  estimate  the  charac- 
ters of  the  people  we  meet?  Did  he  judge  the  characters  of  those 
with  whom  he  came  in  contact?  How  does  he  help  us  to  estimate 
them  correctly? 

4.  Under  what  circumstances  should  we  find  everybody  worthy  of 
respect,  and  courts  of  law  unnecessary? 

5.  From  the  social  point  of  view,  which  is  the  more  harmful,  the 
impulsive  sinner  or  the  hypocrite?  Do  all  things,  including  hypoc- 
risy, work  together  for  good?     For  whose  good? 

6.  How  did  Jesus'  forgiveness  of  sins  not  interfere  with  social 
order,  but  aid  it? 

7.  What  is  the  difference  between  sin  and  crime? 

8.  Are  reform  methods  in  all  prisons,  etc.,  practical? 

9.  Why  not  begin  the  reform  methods  in  time — in  the  public 
schools  ? 

10.  What  was  Jesus'  method  of  converting  men  to  a  higher  life? 
How  is  this  method  non-resistant  to  evil? 


STUDY  X 
Jesus'  Teachings  Regarding  Non-resistance  to  Evil 

"But  I  say  unto  you,  that  ye  resist  not  him  that  is  evil"— Matthew 

V,  39- 
"Be  not  overcome  of  evil,  but  overcome  evil  with  good."— /\!omaMs 

xii,  21. 

"Let  the  bugles  sound  the  Truce  of  God  to  the  whole  world  for- 
ever."— Charles  Simmer. 


SOCIAL  TEACHINGS.  OF  JESUS. 


First  Day  :  JBon-refiiBtance  (n  j^armonp  tnitb  a  S>piritttal 

"God  is  a  Spirit:  and  they  that  worship  him  must  worship  him 
in  spirit  and  in  truth." — John  iv,  24. 

Matthew  v,  5,  38-48. 

John  iii,  1-8. 

Speer  :   Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapter  XXVI. 

HiLLis:   Influence  of  Christ  in  Modern  Life,  Chapter  II. 

Hyde:    From  Epicurus  to  Christ,  pages  215-218. 


PRINCIPLE    OF    NON-RESISTANCE  129 

First  Day  :  Bon  vteletantt  in  l^armonp  tottf)  a  Spiritual 
EinffUom 

Jesus,  in  founding  his  spiritual  kingdom  in  the  hearts  of  a  few 
disciples  in  the  little  subject  province  of  Palestine,  laid  down  the 
principle  of  non-resistance  to  evil.  He  was  speaking,  not  of  the 
Roman  state,  but  of  a  spiritual  kingdom,  and  to  his  followers.  His 
disciples  were  to  make  no  physical  opposition  to  adverse  and  evil 
forces  (as  wise  parents  and  teachers  now  advise  their  children),  but 
by  teaching  and  example  they  were  to  win  individuals  to  a  free 
choice  of  their  way  of  living,  and  to  overcome  evil  by  good. 

Jesus'  kingdom  was  a  spiritual  kingdom.  The  heart  of  man  was 
its  realm.  In  the  very  depths  of  man's  nature,  where  no  earthly 
power  held  rule,  its  sway  was  to  be  exerted;  only  there  was  a  field 
for  a  race-long  kingdom.  Conflict  with  forces  less  significant  than 
the  moral  forces  there  to  be  met  would  have  been  but  a  diversion 
of  energy  from  the  main  point,  the  regeneration  of  the  human 
heart.  The  gaining  of  political  power,  the  possession  of  kingdoms  of 
the  world  and  their  glory,  would  have  marked — as  it  later  did — 
only  a  departure  from  the  grandeur  of  Jesus'  simple  purpose. 

And  Jesus  saw  this.  There  had  been  other  spiritual  leaders  before 
him,  prophets  with  exalted  interpretations  of  the  character  of  God, 
with  lofty  ideas  of  the  destiny  of  man,  and  with  earnest  emphasis 
upon  individual  rightness  of  heart ;  but  the  hope  of  an  earthly  king- 
dom had  blinded  their  vision.  With  them,  earthly  power  had  been 
sought  as  a  means  to  resist  evil  and  enhance  the  growth  of  good. 
They  had  not  had  Jesus'  deep  and  delicate  insight  into  the  human 
heart  and  its  workings;  they  had  not  comprehended  where  lies  in 
man  the  seat  of  all  dominion  that  is  real  and  indestructible.  In 
Jesus'  clear,  unwavering  spiritual  insight  lay  much  of  his  creative 
originality  and  his  power. 


130  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Second  Day  :  Co  5^I)om  tl)e  principle  SlpplUs 

"If  any  man  serve  me,  let  him  follow  me." — John  xii,  26. 

"Man  grows  in  civilization  just  in  proportion  as  he  grows  in  dis- 
position and  power  to  trust  in  moral  forces.  So  long  as  he  trusts 
in  the  mailed  fist,  so  long  he  advertises  himself  to  the  world  about 
him  as  still  on  this  side  of  true  civilization.  It  may  be  necessary 
still  to  keep  the  mailed  fist,  but  we  confess  it  with  shame  that  it  is 
our  fault,  and  we  mean  to  amend  our  fault,  that  the  mailed  fist 
may  become  the  soft  warm  hand  of  welcome  and  of  brotherhood." — 
Philip  S.  Moxom. 

Matthew  v. 

Luke  vi,  20-38. 

Speer:    Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapter  VIII. 

Harnack:    What  is  Christianity?  pages  102-117. 

Mathews  :  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  pages  210-217. 

PEABOby:    Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  Chapter  III. 


PRINCIPLE    OF    NON-RESISTANCE  131 

Second  Day  :  €0  Whom  tl)e  principle  Applies 

Jesus'  command  to  resist  not  evil  was  given  to  his  followers  as  a 
principle  of  their  lives  in  wmning  the  world  to  his  kingdom.  We 
have  seen  how  essential  it  is  in  the  growth  of  a  truly  spiritual 
power  upon  earth.  But  does  the  same  principle  apply  to  civil  rulers 
and  to  all  those  in  authority  over  men? 

Civil  rulers  are  the  representatives  of  society.  Into  their  hands 
have  been  put  the  power  and  the  duty  of  enforcing  those  laws  which 
society  has  laid  down  to  preserve  for  humanity  its  social  growth 
already  attained.  Jesus  interfered  with  no  government  or  social 
laws,  but  sought,  thru  moral  teaching,  to  raise  the  level  of  all 
humanity,  a  process  which  would  inevitably  modify  them.  It  should 
not  be  forgotten  that  he  and  his  disciples  had  no  voice  in  the  govern- 
ment, as  we  have.  They  could  not  prevent  evil  thru  public  means, 
as  we  may.  As  the  forces  of  good  grow  more  powerful  and  the 
provisions  of  society  against  its  lawless  elements  are,  thru  the 
spread  of  the  Christian  spirit,  less  necessary,  the  position  of  the 
ruler  as  the  representative  of  forcible  resistance  to  evil  will  be 
gradually  changed.  The  ruler  will  no  longer  need  so  much  to  re- 
strain ;  his  part  may  be  that  of  the  leader. 

Jesus'  dictum  of  non-resistance  to  evil  was  not  political,  but  in- 
dividual and  moral ;  not  for  specific  application  by  the  ruler  to  his 
task  of  preserving  society  from  the  violence  of  unregenerate  men, 
but  for  the  training  of  the  heart  of  every  individual  (the  ruler  in- 
cluded) that  he  might  best  perform  the  duty  that  was  his.  So 
might  he  help  to  spread  the  spirit  of  Jesus  thru  society,  and,  as  a 
result,  gradually  do  away  with  much  of  the  need  for  social  and 
political  restraint. 


132  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  lESUS 


Third  Day  :  attitude  of  ^tate  anti  STnUtbtBual  totoartj 
eijiMiocra 

"Crime  is  not  punished  as  an  offense  against  God,  but  as  preju- 
dicial to  society." — Froude. 

"How  oft  shall  my  brother  sin  against  me,  and  I  forgive  him?" — 
Matthew  xviii,  21. 

Matthew  v,  43,  44. 

Mark  x,  42-45;  xi,  15-18;  xii,  28-31. 

Luke  xx,  9-19. 

GiDDiNGS :    The  Elements  of  Sociology,  Chapter  XIX. 

Harnack:     What  is   Christianity?    pages    102-117. 

Mathews  :    The  Social  Teaching  of  lesiis,  pages  210-217. 


PRINCIPLE   OF  NON-RESISTANCE  133 

Third  Day  :  attituBe  of  S'tate  anu  STnUibiUual  tatoart 
€t)tI-'lJocra 

The  attitude  of  the  state  toward  evil-doers  may  sometimes  appear 
harsh  and  not  for  the  good  of  the  individual.  Like  the  laws  of 
nature,  those  of  the  state  may  seem  at  times  to  work  with  undue 
severity,  laying  penalties  irrespective  of  extenuating  circumstances, 
seeking  to  destroy  opposing  forces  rather  than  to  transform  them 
for  better  living.  But  the  aim  of  the  state  is  the  good  of  all. 
The  individual  is  considered  only  as  an  integral  part  of  society, 
for  whose  sake  he  must  suffer  if  he  opposes  himself  to  its  laws. 
Gradually,  government  is  coming  to  see  that,  for  the  best  good 
of  all,  the  individuals  making  up  the  anti-social  forces  must  be 
transformed  into  men  who  recognize  that  what  is  best  for  all  does 
not  run  counter  to  what  is  best  for  them.  But  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  state  to  deal  primarily  with  the  welfare  of  society  as  a  whole, 
even  tho  the  interests  of  an  individual  may  suffer. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  individual  to  deal  with  individuals,  to  con- 
sider the  case  of  the  evil-doer  in  the  way  most  helpful  to  the  man 
himself.  The  evil-doer  is  not  to  feel  himself  opposed,  tho  his  acts 
may  be ;  for  the  Christian  is  to  love  his  enemies,  even  if  he  hates 
their  evil-doing.  The  evil-doer  is  not  to  have  a  plan  of  right  living 
forced  upon  him  by  another  individual,  physically  or  intellectually ; 
for  no  one  can  be  convinced  against  his  will  to  enter  Jesus'  king- 
dom. But  evil,  in  the  heart  of  the  evil-doer,  is  to  be  overcome 
by  no  passive  Christianity — only  by  active  love  and  kindness  and 
persistent  effort  to  give  the  evil-doer,  thru  an  example  of  right 
living,  a  clear  sight  of  the  better  way,  and  so  to  win  him  to  its 
choice. 


134  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Fourth  Day  :  ^iffnificancc  to  tbc  STitBt^itittal  Df  tijie  |JrinnpIe 
of  jQon^reflitfiitattcc 

"  'Love  does  not  behave  itself  unseemly.'  Politeness  has  been 
defined  as  love  in  trifles.  Courtesy  is  said  to  be  love  in  little  things. 
And  the  one  secret  of  politeness  is  to  love." — Drummond. 

Matthew  v,  48. 

Luke  vi,  29;  xvii,  1-4. 

Harnack:    What  is  Christianity  f  pages  105-107. 

Schmidt:   The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  pages  301-2. 

Peabody:  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  pages  154-165. 


PRINCIPLE    OF   NON-RESISTANCE  135 

Fourth  Day  :  ^tffnificancc  to  tijc  SfnUtbiliaal  of  tl)e  principle 
of  JBon-rcciifitaiue 

The  principle  of  non-resistance  to  evil  was  the  best  of  methods 
for  keeping  Jesus'  kingdom  a  spiritual  kingdom  and  for  preserving 
it  from  the  unessential  conflict  with  earthly  powers ;  and  it  was 
the  best,  the  only  really  effective,  method  of  winning  souls  for 
that  kingdom.  It  was  also  a  means  of  the  highest  development  and 
purest  culture  for  the  individual  who  adopted  it  as  one  of  his  prin- 
ciples of  living. 

It  taught  him  patience  and  self-control.  In  meeting  the  thousand 
unavoidable  vexations  of  daily  life,  he  was  calmly  to  do  his  best, 
keeping  his  mind's  eye  on  the  larger  aim,  in  order  to  be  able  to  rec- 
ognize the  trivial  for  what  it  was.  Larger  troubles,  too,  were  tc 
be  met  with  a  patience  born  of  trust,  trust  that  in  this,  God's  world, 
the  good  would  surely  prevail. 

The  principle  of  non-resistance  threw  the  work  of  overcoming 
evil  upon  a  winning  example  of  right  living.  Only  thru  the  kindly, 
helpful  life  could  kindliness  and  helpfulness  be  taught.  Thus  the 
Christian  home  gained  its  peace  and  mutual  courtesy.  Indeed,  the 
principle  of  non-resistance  is  the  basis  of  courtesy,  which  ignores 
the  unpleasant  circumstances  and  alien  or  unpleasant  traits  of  char- 
acter, only  expressing  a  gladness  to  be  of  service.  Peace,  courtesy, 
sympathy,  active  helpfulness,  the  example  of  a  Christian's  life,  these 
were  to  be  the  means  of  furthering  the  kingdom.  And  so  the 
Christian's  personal  life  was  to  be  a  study  of  perfection;  and  the 
ideal  of  perfection  that  Jesus  gave  was  the  highest — that  of  the 
character  of  the  Heavenly  Father. 


136  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Fifth  Day  :  CJe  9li>olition  of  Wwc 

"If  there  is  truth  in  brotherhood,  if  there  is  reality  in  the  Father- 
hood of  God,  if  it  is  true  that  love  is  better  than  hate,  then  it  is 
true  that  the  strifes  and  the  conflicts,  the  brutal  and  terrible  strug- 
gles which  humanity  has  fought  out  through  a  long  agony,  must 
pass  away  and  the  men  who  spoke  for  peace  and  good-will  will 
have  the  day." — Moxotn. 

Matthew  x,  34-39;  xiii,  24-30,  36-43,  47-50;  xviii,  i-io,  15-18,  21-35. 

Luke  xii,  58,  59. 

Speer:    Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapter  XXV. 

Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  pages  364,  365. 

Hyde:   From  Epicurus  to  Christ,  pages  251-254. 


PRINCIPLE    OF    NON-RESISTANCE  137 

Fifth  Day  :  d;c  9lfaoUttDn  of  Wkx 

We  have  seen  that  Jesus'  teaching  of  non-resistance,  applied  to 
the  individual,  meant  no  passive  acceptance  of  evil.  Rather  does 
it  mean,  besides  eternal  vigilance  in  service  and  in  self-control, 
an  earnest  and  never-ending  effort  to  perfect  one's  own  character — 
realizing  its  imperfection  in  the  light  of  a  divine  ideal — and  a  con- 
stant determination  helpfully  to  see  and  to  respect  the  good  that  is 
in  others.  As  the  Christian  holds  his  own  responsibility  to  be  the 
principle  of  his  own  growth,  he  must  hold  in  reverence  the  inde- 
pendent responsibility  of  his  brother,  while  helping  him  to  an  under- 
standing of  right,  unprovoked  by  his  waywardness  into  withdrawal 
of  care  and  sympathy,  and  glad,  and  himself  stronger,  in  the  thought 
of  another's  growth. 

In  the  same  gradual  way  in  which  the  state  is  coming  to  see  the 
advantage  of  seeking  to  convert  anti-social  forces  rather  than  to  de- 
stroy them,  government  will  come  to  recognize  the  economic  waste 
of  war  and  to  see  that  there  is  a  means  more  truly  eflfective  and  of 
surer  justice.  As  individual  character  grows  nobler,  the  state  will 
reflect  its  growth.  As  men  come  habitually  to  look  for  and  to 
respect  the  good  in  other  personalities,  the  state  will  grow  into  a 
power  of  broader  and  more  sympathetic  realization  of  the  viewpoint 
of  other  states.  As  they  respect  independence  as  the  fertile  prin- 
ciple of  growth,  they,  as  nations,  will  have  less  respect  for  force, 
more  for  persuasion.  Open-minded,  tolerant,  each  respectful  of 
the  individuality  and  rights  of  others,  will  not  the  nations  grow  to 
recognize  their  differences  as  often  only  different  angles  of  vision, 
and  be  glad  to  submit  them  to  arbitration?  That  they  should 
eventually  give  up  war  no  more  signifies  that  they  should  give  up 
their  ideals  of  right  and  justice  and  national  honor  than  did  Jesus' 
rejection  of  physical  force  for  his  followers  in  their  common  inter- 
course mean  passivity  on  their  part.  It  but  recognizes  persuasion 
as  the  most  effective  method  of  conquest,  and  enjoins  the  humble 
trust  that,  if  we  are  right,  our  ideas — in  this  case,  our  national  ideal 
— will  surely  prevail. 


138  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Sixth  Day  :  S^csttB'  CeacJ^inff  anS  t()e  jFountiaticin  of  a  Woxlti 
parliament 

"For  I  dipt  into  the  future,  far  as  human  eye  could  see, 
Saw  the  Vision  of  the  world,  and  all  the  wonder  that  would  be; 

:fc  :^  :{c  :^  :^ 

Till   the   war-drum  throbb'd  no   longer,   and  the  battle-flags  were 

furl'd 
In  the  Parliament  of  man,  the  Federation  of  the  world." 

— Tennyson. 

I.  Kings  iv,  34. 

Isaiah  Ixv,  17-25. 

I.  Cor.  xvi,  25,  26. 

Speer:    The  Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapter  L. 

Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  pages  303  fif.  and  364  ff. 

Hyde:    From  Epicurus  to  Christ,  pages  251-253. 


PRINCIPLE    OF   NON-RESISTANCE  t3Q 

Sixth  Day  :  '^z^vii'  Ccacbinff  anU  tbe  iFounKation  of  a  WmXti 
^Parliament 

The  teaching  of  Jesus  clearly  tends  toward  the  final  abolition 
of  war.  Another  question  sometimes  asked  is :  Does  it  tend  toward 
abolition  of  government?  Does  Jesus'  emphasis  upon  the  duty  of 
each  man  to  put  himself  in  right  relations  with  God.  and  to  live 
his  life  of  perfection-seeking  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own 
conscience,  if  once  accepted,  imply  that  improvement  in  man  may 
put  him  beyond  the  need  of  restraints  of  government?  Does  the 
life  of  service,  as  the  world  grows  into  it,  obviate  the  necessity  of 
government?  Is  it  a  scientific  anarchy  to  which  we  are  coming? 
Only  so  far  as  it  is  a  question  of  a  world  grown  both  perfect  in 
wisdom  and  perfect  in  heart.  Only  so  far  as  we  all  think  and  feel 
alike.  The  life  of  the  state  is  still,  and,  as  far  as  we  can  see,  will 
ever  be,  the  "dome  of  many-colored  glass."  God's  light,  however 
sincerely  we  seek  to  transmit  it,  will  still  be  colored  by  our  various 
personalities;  and  governments  will  be  needed  to  regulate,  by  a 
common  consensus  of  opinion,  the  service  of  each,  for  the  best  ser- 
vice of  all. 

As  the  principles  of  Jesus'  kingdom  come  to  dominate  society, 
governments  will  gradually  assume  the  position  of  leadership  in 
service;  and  instead  of  jealousy  of  a  growing  power,  each  nation 
will  feel  itself  stronger  in  the  growth  of  another  nation  into  larger 
life  and  better  service.  This  ideal  is  not,  necessarily,  very  far 
away,  as  history  and  progress  reckon  time.  The  most  powerful 
countries  in  the  world  are  surely  growing  in  Christian  spirit,  and 
with  the  great  nations  federated  to  abolish  war  and  promote  the 
works  of  peace,  the  lesser  countries  must  needs  follow  them,  or, 
by  a  last  salutary  use  of  governmental  force,  be  kept  from  destroy- 
ing each  other  while  they  are  coming  to  a  better  state  of  mind  and 
heart.  Differences  of  the  nations  are  even  now  sometimes  referred 
to  a  world  court,  The  Hague  Tribunal,  the  first  fruit  of  a  real  union 
of  Jesus'  spiritual  kingdom  (not  the  church)  with  the  state.  The 
Hague  Conference  seems,  in  incipient  form,  the  beginning  of  legis- 
lative activity.  In  the  not  distant  future  the  scope  and  activity  of 
this  tribunal  and  of  these  conferences  will  be  greatly  extended ; 
and  it  is  no  long  forecast  to  see  a  world  parliament  which  will  make 
first  a  few,  later  more,  world  regulations,  and  the  constitution  of  a 
common  power  to  enforce  world  judgments. 


140  SOCIAL  TEACHINGS  OF  lESUS 

Seventh  Day:  KcbietD 

1.  Contrast  the  method  of  Jesus  in  establishing  his  kingdom  with 
that  of  Mahomet.    Of  Confucius.     Of  the  Buddha. 

2.  How  far  does  the  principle  of  non-resistance  apply  to  rulers  and 
to  governments  in  their  dealings  with  the  citizens?  With  other 
nations?  How  is  it  coming  to  modify  their  attitude  toward  evil- 
doers ? 

3.  How  far  is  it  Just  that  the  individual  should  be  sacrificed  for 
society  ? 

4.  On  what  grounds  does  government  assume  the  right  to  punish 
evil-doers  ? 

5.  How  is  the  attitude  of  the  state  necessarily  different  from  that 
of  the  individual  toward  evil-doers? 

6.  What  personal  virtues  are  inculcated  by  the  teaching  of  non- 
resistance  to  evil? 

7.  What  was  Jesus'  ideal  of  human  perfection?  What  is,  usually, 
the  ideal  of  the  individual? 

8.  Is  war  necessary  when  one  side  insists  upon  it?  Would  it 
profit  or  injure  a  nation  to  be  thought  cowardly  by  another  nation 
that  could  not  understand  its  idej*ls? 

9.  What  are  the  really  sound  arguments  for  war?  For  its  aboli- 
tion? 

10.  In  a  perfect  state  what  wonld  be  the  function  of  government? 


STUDY  XI 
Jesus'  Principles  of  Social  Reform 

"Now  the  Lord  is  the  Spirit :  and  where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is, 
there  is  liberty." — //  Corinthians  iii,  17. 

"He  said  therefore,  Unto  what  is  the  kingdom  of  God  like?  and 
whereunto  shall  I  liken  it?  It  is  like  unto  a  grain  of  mustard  seed, 
which  a  man  took,  and  cast  into  his  own  garden ;  and  it  grew,  and 
became  a  tree;  and  the  birds  of  the  heaven  lodged  in  the  branches 
thereof." — Luke  xiii,  18,  19. 


142  SOCIAL   TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


First  Day  :  JQccegettp  of  J^notoletiffe  of  fSLtn  antj  Soctrtp 

"So   that   thou   incline   thine   ear   unto   wisdom   and   apply  thine 
heart  to  understanding." — Proverbs  ii,  2. 

Matthew  vii,  6,  9-12,  15-27;  x,  16-18,  22-25. 

Mark  iii,  20-27. 

Luke  vi,  36-50;  xi,  11-13. 

Rhees  :   The  Life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Part  III,  Chapters  I  and  III. 

HiLLis :    The  Influence  of  Christ  in  Modern  Life,  Chapter  VII. 

Mathews  :    The  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapter  II. 


PRINCIPLES    OF   SOCIAL   REFORM  143 

First  Day  :  Bcccsfittp  of  JRnotolcKffe  of  fUtn  anti  Socictp 

In  his  teachings,  Jesus  clearly  did  not  have  in  mind  political  re- 
form; neither  did  he  intend  to  teach  any  formal  reorganization  of 
society.  He  intended  to  plant  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  men  certain 
ethical  principles  dealing  with  individual  character  and  with  the 
relations  of  each  person  to  his  fellow  men  which  would  have  the 
effect  of  regenerating  society.  The  form  which  each  society  would 
take  would,  of  necessity,  depend  upon  social  and  political  charac- 
teristics of  persons,  places  and  times. 

In  these  respects  he  differed  from  the  prophets,  whose  aim  was 
generally  to  bring  about  special  political  reforms.  When  specific 
political  or  legal  questions  were  asked  him  he  often  replied  so  as 
to  show  that  he  did  not  intend  to  interfere  in  politics  or  government 
[Luke  xii,  13-15;  xx,  20-26];  and,  in  his  answers,  he  regularly 
placed  the  emphasis  upon  right  living.  If,  however,  he  were  to  bring 
about  any  reform  in  society,  even  in  this  indirect  way,  he  must  have 
followed  some  general  principles,  otherwise  his  work  would  have 
been  a  failure. 

It  is  clear  that  he  did  understand  human  nature,  and,  in  conse- 
quence, the  nature  of  society,  so  well  that  in  the  principles  which 
he  employed  and  in  those  which  he  laid  down  for  his  followers  he 
set  a  model  for  all  social  reformers  since.  We  must,  if  we  wish  to 
follow  in  his  footsteps  in  promoting  the  regeneration  of  society,  aim 
first  to  understand  men  and  social  conditions. 

We  shall  then  be  less  likely  to  be  misled  by  demagogues  or  ex- 
tremists, and  we  shall  be  less  likely  to  deceive  ourselves  by  imagin- 
ing that  we  have  found  some  sovereign  remedy  for  the  ills  of  society. 
The  success  of  his  principles  thruout  the  ages  has  proved  that  he 
was  not  self-deceived. 


144  SOCIAL   TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Second  Day  :  Eelation  of  ^Tntitijitnial  Etf  orm  to  Social  Kef  orm 

"Nothing  can   injure  a  man  who  is  a  member  of  a  community 
which  does  not  injure  the  community." — Marcus  Aurelius. 


'All  are  needed  by  each  one; 
Nothing  is  fair  or  good  alone." 


— Emerson. 


Matthew  v,  i-i6;  x,  39;  xiii,  18-23;  xvi,  25. 

Mark  iv,  13-23;  viii,  35. 

Luke  vi,  27,  28,  36;  viii,  11-17;  ix,  24. 

John  iii,  1-7. 

Fairbairn  :  Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ,  pages  107  ff. 

Peabody:    Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  Chapter  VI. 

Mathews  :    The  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapter  IX. 

Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Nasareth,  Chapter  XI. 


PRINCIPLES   OP  SOCIAL  REPORM  145 

Second  Day  :  Kelatton  oE  3rw^i^i^oaI  Ecform  in  Siocial  KcEorm 

Perhaps  no  other  teacher  in  history  has  had  so  profound  a  belief 
in  the  influence  of  personality  and  in  the  power  of  right  thought 
as  had  Jesus.  He  was  willing  to  intrust  the  success  of  his  entire 
regenerating  work  to  the  influence  which  he  as  an  individual  could 
exert  over  those  with  whom  he  came  in  personal  contact.  He  left 
no  writings,  he  made  no  attempt  to  pass  any  laws,  he  went  to  the 
cross  with  no  formal  steps  taken  toward  the  organization  of  his 
kingdom ;  but  he  was  evidently  certain  of  his  complete  success. 

He  knew  that  his  ideas  were  right ;  that  they  had  been  deeply 
implanted  in  the  hearts  of  many  individuals  who  would  devote  their 
lives  to  the  propagation  of  those  ideas ;  that  they  were  sure  to  ger- 
minate anew  repeatedly  thru  coming  generations  in  an  ever-widening 
circle  of  influence  until  the  world  should  be  overcome.  And  his 
confidence  in  his  method  of  social  reform  has  been  justified. 

While,  with  the  exception  of  Mohammedanism,  it  seems  probable 
that,  so  far  as  the  external  method  of  spreading  their  doctrines 
goes,  the  founders  of  all  great  religions,  such  as  Confucianism  and 
Buddhism,  have  succeeded  in  much  the  same  way,  their  influence 
seems  waning  while  that  of  Jesus  is  increasing.  The  greater  growth 
of  Christianity  is  due  primarily,  not  to  the  method,  but  to  the 
transcendant  personality  of  the  Founder  and  the  eternal  right- 
ness  and  infinite  value  of  his  principles.  It,  then,  appears  to 
be  the  duty  of  each  Christian  to  make  sure  that  he  himself  is  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  the  Master;  then  he  may  count  upon  his  influence 
reaching  others  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact. 


146  SOCIAL   TEACHINGS   OF  JESUS 


Third  Day  :  Christian  Social  l^vo^tn  ^tttaamlf  S»lDto 

"  'Tis  a  life-long  toil  till  our  lump  be  leavened." — Browning. 

Matthew  xiii,  31-35. 

Mark  iv,  26-32. 

Luke  xiii,  18-21. 

Speer  :   Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapter  XXIV. 

Spencer:  Principles  of  Sociology,  Part  II,  Chapter  III. 

Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  Chapter  XI. 

Mathews:    The  Social  Teaching  of  Jesus,  Chapter  IX. 


PRINCIPLES   OF  SOCIAL   REFORM  147 

Third  Day  :  €l)rt6ttan  Sioctal  proffrccs  JQcccBsavilp  §)Ioto 

In  his  parable  explaining  the  nature  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
Jesus  made  clear  the  principle  of  the  propagation  of  his  teachings 
by  personal  contact.  As  the  little  leaven  gradually,  by  actual  physi- 
cal contact,  spreads  itself  thruout  the  loaf,  so  has  the  influence  of 
Jesus  thru  his  personal  touch  with  his  disciples,  thru  them  to  the 
earlier  Christians,  and  so  on  to  the  ages  since,  been  extended  by 
the  influence  of  a  good  example,  and  by  the  personal  w^ord  of 
Christians  to  their  fellows.  As  Bi=hop  Spalding  has  said,  "There 
is  no  tnie  teaching  except  that  which  comes  from  the  touch  of  soul 
with  soul" ;  and  in  this  truest  of  teaching,  Jesus  has  been  supremely 
the  greatest  of  teachers. 

Like  this,  altho  less  directly  powerful,  is  the  mental  touch  which 
comes  from  the  influence  of  the  gospels  as  written  in  books.  For, 
as  Milton  says,  "A  good  booke  is  the  pretious  life-blood  of  a  master 
spirit,  imbalm'd  and  treasur'd  up  on  purpose  to  a  life  beyond  life." 
But  as  such  progress  is  primarily  thru  personal  contact,  and  thru 
the  gradual  spread  of  a  noble  ideal,  it  must  necessarily  be  slow. 

'"Step  by  step,  lifts  bad  to  good. 
Without  halting,  without  rest. 
Lifting  Better  up  to  Best ; 
Planting  seeds  of  knowledge  pure, 
Through  earth  to  ripen,  through  heaven  endure." 

— Emerson. 


148  SOCIAL   TEACHINGS   OF  JESUS 


Fourth  Day  :  ©IiBtacIes  anU  ©ppoeition  to  |)rog;rcBB 

"Then  welcome  each  rebuff 
That  turns  earth's  smoothness  rough, 
Each  sting  that  bids  nor  sit  nor  stand  but  go !" 

— Browning. 

Matthew  x,  22,  23 ;  xiii,  24-30,  36-39. 

Mark  iv,  26-29. 

Luke  vi,  22,  23. 

John  xv,  18-25. 

Speer  :  Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapters  V,  VII,  XII,  XIII,  XXV. 

Peabody  :  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  Chapter  IV. 

Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  Chapter  XIII. 


PRINCIPLES    OF   SOCIAL  REFORM  149 

Fourth  Day  :  ©hsXulti  anlf  ©ppoeition  ta  Proffrcac 

Jesus  recognized  the  fact  that  any  good  ideas  put  into  society 
must  meet  with  opposition.  There  are  so  many  selfish  interests  which 
an  unselfish  gospel  opposes;  there  are  so  many  personal  enjoyments 
which  consideration  for  the  interests  of  others  must  lead  us  to  deny 
ourselves ;  there  are  so  many  sources  of  gratification  of  our  lower 
natures  which  a  regard  for  social  progress  will  forbid,  that  the  ene- 
mies of  Christianity  will  long  be  many  and  active. 

There  are  always  selfish  business  men  who  are  ready  to  adulterate 
goods,  to  secure  unfair  concessions  which  will  give  them  an  advan- 
tage over  their  competitors,  to  avoid  the  restrictive  laws  (e.  g.,  those 
regarding  child  labor)  which  are  in  the  interests  of  society,  but 
which  lessen  profits.  Shall  the  unselfish  Christian  allow  himself 
to  be  driven  out  of  business  rather  than  stoop  to  such  practices? 

If  the  kingdom  is  to  make  the  most  rapid  progress,  we  must  often 
deny  ourselves  pleasures  that  for  us  alone  might  be  innocent,  but 
which  would  injure  or  pain  others.  It  is  a  manly  as  well  as  a 
Christian  act  to  deny  one's  self  for  another's  sake.  How  many  acts 
of  college  students,  innocent  enough  in  themselves,  cause  real  pain 
to  their  parents  or  serious  annoyance  to  friends  and  neighbors ! 
What  ought  to  be  done  under  such  conditions?  Questions  of  this 
kind  often  lead  people  to  hesitate  about  assuming  the  responsibili- 
ties of  the  Christian  life  when,  going  beyond  forms,  it  becomes  a 
matter  of  unselfish  living. 

We  must  always  expect  enemies  to  come  and  sow  tares  among  our 
wheat.  Moreover,  aside  from  the  personal  opposition  of  the  selfish, 
we  shall  frequently  meet  with  adverse  conditions  by  which  our 
work  will  be  checked;  not  merely  are  there  enemies  who  will  sow 
tares,  but  our  seed  must  often  be  sown  upon  stony  ground  and 
among  thorns. 


ISO  SOCIAL    TEACHINGS   OF  JESUS 


Fifth  Day  :  SUbersc  ContJitione  2)mana  patience  anH  JFaitf) 

"If  we  would  endeavor  like  men  of  courage  to  stand  in  the  battle, 
surely  we  should  feel  the  favorable  assistance  of  God  from  heaven. 

"For  he  who  giveth  us  occasion  to  fight,  to  the  end  that  we  may- 
get  the  victory,  is  ready  to  succor  those  who  fight  manfully  and 
do  trust  in  his  grace." — Thomas  a  Kempis. 

Luke  xi,  5-13;  xii,  22-34. 

John  xiv,  25-31;  xv,  25-27;  xvi,  7-24,  31-33. 

Speer:    The  Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapters  XLII  and  XLIII. 

Peabody  :    Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  Chapter  IV. 

Schmidt  :    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  Chapter  XIV. 


PRINCIPLES   OF  SOCIAL   REFORM  151 

Fifth  Day:  StUbcrge  ConHitiona  IDcmanli  |)aticiue  anU  jFatt() 

If,  however,  we  find  ourselves  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  Jesus,  if 
we  have  taken  into  our  nature  enough  of  his  personality  so  that  we 
have  confidence  and  trust  in  him  and  his  methods  of  work,  we 
shall  not  be  discouraged.  Even  if  our  lives  as  individuals  are  short, 
God  has  plenty  of  time.  If  his  kingdom  is  developing  even  slowly, 
it  will  eventually  be  all-embracing.  Each  of  us  must  do  his  full 
part,  but  many  more  are  to  follow  us  in  life,  and  God  will  have 
plenty  of  work  for  all. 

As  is  shown  by  all  his  teachings,  Jesus  clearly  believed  in  a  grad- 
ual but  sure  progress  so  far  as  the  growth  of  the  spiritual  kingdom 
is  concerned.  In  his  day  men  were  selfish,  as  they  are  now ;  men 
were  stupid,  as  they  are  now ;  men  failed  to  understand  him.  They 
fought  him  and  his  principles;  but  he  had  sown  the  seed,  and 
in  the  end  he  saw  that  it  had  really  taken  root,  and  that  the  harvest 
would  be  ripe.    He  knew  that  he  had  redeemed  the  world. 


152  -      SOCIAL    TEACHINGS   OF  JESUS 


Sixth  Day  :  J^oinU  of  ©mpl^aeta  in  i^t  Ceat^nff  of  ^tsnti 

"Thou  shalt  love  the  Lor<i  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all 
thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind.  This  is  the  great  and  first  com- 
mandment. And  a  second  like  unto  it  is  this,  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself." — Matthew  xxii,  37-39. 

"Come  ye  after  me." — Matthew  iv,  19. 

Matthew  x,  25-30;  xii,  50. 

Luke  x,  21,  22. 

John  viii,  12-20. 

Simpson  :   The  Fact  of  Christ,  Chapter  VI. 

Sanday:    Outlines  of  the  Life  of  Christ,  pages  74-100. 

Gilbert:    The  Student's  Life  of  Jesus,  pages  186-190. 

Hyde:   From  Epicurus  to  Christ,  pages  215-218. 

Harnack:    What  is  Christianity?  pages  10-78. 

Schmidt:   The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  pages  316,  317. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  SOCIAL  REFORM  153 

Sixth  Day  :  Points  of  €mpl)a6ig  in  tlje  CeacMnff  of  STegtia 

We  can  better  understand,  perhaps,  the  confidence  of  Jesus  in  the 
success  of  his  kingdom,  if  we  attempt  to  look  carefully  at  some  of 
his  teachings  to  his  followers  on  which  he  laid  special  emphasis. 
Attention  has  already  been  called  in  Study  III  to  this  emphasis  upon 
his  own  absolute  and  supreme  authority  as  a  teacher. 

(a)  The  fundamental  principle  of  this  teaching  from  which  ht 
derived  all  his  strength,  his  comfort,  his  confidence,  his  assurance  of 
success,  was  that  the  all-powerful,  loving  God  exists,  whose  atti- 
tude toward  men  is  that  of  a  father.  Every  Christian  accepts  this 
teaching. 

(b)  The  Christian  must  also  recognize  the  fact  that  his  concep- 
tion of  God  as  father  has  come  thru  the  teaching  and  life  of  Jesus ; 
that  in  fact  his  entire  conception  of  the  personality  of  God  and 
of  God's  relation  with  men  has  come  to  him  thru  Jesus,  i.  e.,  that 
his  God  has  been  revealed  to  him  in  all  his  most  important  char- 
acteristics principally  thru  Jesus.  The  word  "Christian"  would 
otherwise  be  a  misnomer.  Our  highest  ideals  of  success,  our  high- 
est ideals  of  goodness,  our  highest  ideals  of  rtioral  and  spiritual 
purity  and  beauty  and  excellence  in  all  particulars,  are  summed  up 
for  us  in  the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus  and  in  following  and 
obeying  him. 

(c)  If  the  Christian's  knowledge  of  God  has  come  from  Jesus, 
and  if  Jesus  sums  up  in  himself  the  Christian's  highest  ideals  of 
goodness,  of  moral  and  spiritual  purity  and  strength  and  excellence 
in  all  particulars,  it  is  clearly  the  duty  of  every  Christian  to  strive 
to  follow  Jesus  as  his  Master  so  far  as  the  power  within  him  lies, 
to  shape  his  life  and  action  according  to  the  principles  which  Jesus 
taught :  i.  e.,  a  Christian  is  simply  a  follower  of  Jesus.  On  these 
principles,  involving  as  they  do  the  following  of  Jesus  in  the  sense 
indicated,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  can  spread  thruout  the  world, 
shaping  itself  in  each  community  to  the  customs,  traditions  and 
habits  of  its  civilization,  until  those  principles  gradually  work  out 
a  society  in  which  purity,  unselfishness,  and  the  brotherhood  of  man 
shall  continually  develop  toward  perfection. 


154  SOCIAL   TEACHINGS   OF  JESUS 

Seventh  Day:  Kebieto 

1.  In  what  ways  did  Jesus  acquire  his  profound  knowledge  of  hu- 
man nature  and  of  society?  How  should  we  attempt  to  fit  ourselves 
for  social  reform  work? 

2.  How  far  ought  a  student,  in  electing  his  university  work,  to  take 
into  account  the  subject,  and  how  far  the  teacher? 

3.  Was  the  teaching  of  Jesus  mainly  by  formal  lectures  and  ser- 
mons, or  by  informal  talks  and  conversations? 

4.  By  which  method  could  he  set  forth  his  ideas  most  rapidly? 
By  which  method  could  he  most  certainly  inculcate  his  principles 
and  give  his  followers  his  spirit? 

5.  How  far  did  his  personal  life  count  in  giving  effect  to  his 
words  ? 

6.  Can  you  mention  selfish  interests  or  personal  habits  of  students 
which  lead  them  to  oppose  Christianity? 

7.  Are  there  in  your  university  or  town  any  social  groups  so  situ- 
ated, or  whose  ways  of  living  are  such,  that  it  is  extremely  difficult 
for  Christian  teaching  to  take  any  hold  on  them? 

8.  Do  the  Gospels  teach  that  Jesus  saw  the  principles  of  evolution 
so  far  as  spiritual  development  is  concerned? 

9.  When  and  how  were  the  creeds  of  the  leading  churches  estab- 
lished? 

10.  Do  the  various  creeds  suit  persons  of  different  temperaments 
and  training,  so  that  the  needs  of  more  Christians  are  now  satisfied 
than  would  be  possible  with  one  general  creed  or  with  no  creed 
at  all? 

11.  Did  Jesus  formally  establish  any  church  or  organized  religious 
society  or  definitely  plan  any  such  organization? 

12.  Are  his  social  and  ethical  principles  such  that  they  need  any 
special  form  of  organization  to  fit  them,  or  will  they  fit  every  form 
of  organization? 


STUDY  XII 
Jesus  the  Exemplar  of  His  Teachings 
'I  am  the  Way,  and  the  Truth,  and  the  JJit."—John  xiv,  6. 


ts6  SOCIAL   TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


First  Day  :  ^Tcfifttfi*  STop  in  life 

"These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  my  joy  may  be  in  you, 
and  that  your  joy  may  be  made  full." — John  xv,  ii. 

Matthew  ix,  14-16;  xi,  19;  xxvi,  6-13. 

Luke  xix,  i-io. 

John  ii,  i-ii;  viii,  12;  xii,  35,  36. 

Speer  :   Principles  of  Jesus,  Chapter  XIV. 

Rhees  :    The  Life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Part  III,  Chapter  I. 

Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  page  284. 

Peabody:    Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  pages  47-50. 


THE    EXEMPLAR    OF    HIS    TEACHINGS  157 

First  Day  :  ^taue*  ^Top  in  life 

There  is  an  old-time  tradition  that  Jesus  never  smiled.  The  words 
of  the  prophet  said  to  refer  to  the  Messiah  as  a  man  of  sorrows  and 
acquainted  with  grief  have  been  handed  down  from  early  times 
in  tradition  and  sacred  song  until  few,  if  any,  ever  think  of  Jesus 
except  as  weighed  down  with  care.  But  in  spite  of  the  tragic  ele- 
ments in  his  life,  there  seems  to  be  little  in  the  records  to  justify  such 
a  belief.  We  often  fail  to  remember  that  keen  sympathy  with  suf- 
fering implies  also  a  disposition  to  share  joy  and  happiness  quite  as 
sincerely  and  whole-heartedly.  Men  have  commonly  thought  of 
Jesus  as  weeping  over  the  sins  of  the  world,  and  many  of  the 
painters,  following  a  pictorial  tradition,  have  depicted  him  as  one 
apparently  lacking  in  virile  qualities.  They  too  often  forget  his 
wonderful  self-reliance,  his  power  of  originality,  and  his  courage, 
even  to  the  death.  Altho  he  clearly  realized  the  infinite  and  eternal 
significance  of  his  work,  the  breadth  of  his  sympathies  must  have 
given  him  the  deepest  enjoyment  in  life.  Are  not  our  most  success- 
ful social  reformers  of  the  present  day,  altho  earnest  people,  those 
who  are  companionable  and  keenly  sympathetic  in  times  of  happiness 
as  well  as  in  times  of  sorrow? 

Jesus  bade  his  disciples  to  be  of  good  cheer;  he  spoke  of  his  own 
joy  which  they  might  have  fulfilled  in  themselves  (John  xvi,  33; 
xvii,  13).  As  he  was  the  perfect  exemplar  of  his  teachings,  we 
may  properly  consider  some  of  the  sources  of  his  happiness  and 
joy. 


158  SOCIAL   TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Second  Day  :  jpie  Lotie  of  JBlature 

"Consider  the  lilies,  how  they  grow :  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they 
spin :  yet  I  say  unto  you,  Even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not 
arrayed  like  one  of  these." — Luke  xii,  27. 

"When  it  is  evening,  ye  say,  It  will  be  fair  weather:  for  the  sky 
is  red. 

And  in  the  morning,  It  will  be  foul  weather  today :  for  the  heaven 
is  red  and  lowering." — Matthew  xvi,  2,  3. 

Matthew  vi,  26-30 ;  viii,  20. 

Mark  iv,  30-32. 

John  iii,  8;  iv,  35. 

Stevens:    The  Teachings  of  Jesus,  pages  118,  119. 

Peabody:   Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  pages  60,  61. 

Gilbert:    The  Student's  Life  of  Jesus,  pages  114-116. 


THE    EXEMPLAR    OF   HIS    TEACHINGS  I59 

Second  Day  :  ^ie  lo^e  of  JItiature 

The  Gospels  are  filled  with  the  evidence  of  the  keen  delight  which 
Jesus  took  in  the  beauties  of  nature.  Brought  up  as  a  boy  and 
young  man  in  Galilee,  where  he  must  have  been  familiar  with  the 
beautiful  scenery  of  fruitful  valleys,  the  haze  on  the  distant  moun- 
tains, the  glitter  of  the  shimmering  sea,  he  evidently  was  one  of 
the  keenest  observers,  who  took  delight  in  the  beauties  which  sur- 
rounded him.  He  calls  attention  to  the  most  delicate  beauty  of  the 
lilies  of  the  field ;  he  comments  upon  the  varied  tints  of  the  morning 
and  evening  sky ;  he  had  observed  the  ways  of  growth  of  plants 
and  flowers ;  he  knew  the  habits  and  seasons  of  the  birds,  and  to 
his  custom  of  keen  observation  he  added  also  a  poetic  touch  which 
shows  most  clearly  his  sympathy  and  the  keenness  of  his  enjoy- 
ment. He  delights  in  the  personification  of  natural  agencies  as  if 
he  were  accustomed  to  commune  in  person  with  the  spirit  of  the 
wind  or  to  enter  into  the  feelings  of  the  lilies  or  the  sparrows. 
His  habit  of  keen  observation  of  external  nature  he  used  not  merely 
in  his  profound  analysis  of  the  human  heart,  but  he  also  materially 
strengthened  thereby  the  power  of  expression  by  which  he  touched 
the  minds  and  consciences  of  those  whom  he  brought  under  his 
influence. 


i6o  SOCIAL   TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Third  Day  :  |^tj(  ©niopment  of  Social  life 

"Now  Jesus  loved  Martha,  and  her  sister,  and  Lazarus." — John 
xi,  5- 

"Friendship  is  the  nearest  thing  we  know  to  what  religion  is. 
God  is  love.  And  to  make  religion  akin  to  friendship  is  simply 
to  give  it  the  highest  expression  conceivable  by  man." — Drummond. 

Matthew  xi,  i8,  19;  xxvi,  6-1 1. 
Mark  ii,  15-21. 
Luke  x,  38-42. 
John  iv,  5-26. 

•Barrows  :    The  Personality  of  Jesus,  Chapter  V. 
Rhees  :    The  Life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Part  III,  Chapter  I. 
Schmidt:    The  Prophet  of  Nasareth,  page  269. 


THE   EXEMPLAR    OF   HIS    TEACHINGS  i6i 

Third  Day  :  |)icf  ©njopment  of  S'octal  Life 

Keen  as  was  his  enjoyment  of  unconscious  nature,  much  deeper 
must  have  been  his  happiness  in  his  relations  with  human 
beings,  whose  traits  of  character  he  could  analyze,  whose  sym- 
pathies he  touched,  and  whose  whole-hearted  affection  he  won.  We 
have  not  only  the  oft-cited  instance  of  his  presence  at  the  marriage 
in  Cana  of  Galilee  or  his  enjoyment  of  social  intercourse  in  which 
he  sought  so  frequently  the  opportunity  of  pressing  home  some  of 
his  profoundest  lessons,  but  this  is  shown  even  more  clearly  by 
the  accusations  against  him  of  being  a  glutton  and  a  wine-bibber, 
and  of  associating  with  publicans  and  sinners. 

Consider  also  his  intimate  knowledge  of  the  simplicity  and  sin- 
cerity of  child  character  which  led  him  not  only  to  take  little  chil- 
dren in  his  arms  and  bless  them,  but  also  with  the  profoundest 
insight  to  make  them  the  exemplars  of  the  sincerity,  directness  and 
simplicity  of  character  of  those  who  are  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
And  we  must  not  overlook  the  fact  that  the  same  simplicity  and 
directness  of  character  which  he  demanded  for  his  kingdom  belong 
to  all  of  the  greatest  thinkers  and  doers  of  history.  Is  it  not  true 
that,  in  the  greatest  scholars  and  the  most  influential  doers  in  hu- 
man affairs,  we  may  often  note  an  enjoyment  of  little  things  as  direct 
and  frank  as  that  of  a  little  child?  Certainly  our  greatest  reformers 
and  statesmen  could  not  do  their  work  so  well  if  they  did  not  enjoy 
sympathy  with  their  fellow  men ;  and  Jesus  must  have  enjoyed 
to  the  full  his  sympathy,  even  with  sinners,  and  his  insight  into 
the  essential  goodness  of  heart  of  many  of  the  weaker  members  of 
society. 


i62  SOCIAL   TEACHINGS  OF  JESUS 


Fourth  Day  :  l^ifi  iHcntal  ^trtitoitp :  Stpealkftig;,  ^ificttsoion, 

3fn£(iffj)t 

"But  for  those  who  love  all  the  facts  in  any  case  it  is  not  enough 
to  emphasize  the  fascination  of  Christ's  dramatic  story,  his  lofty 
morals,  and  his  heroic  life.  Let  us  hasten  to  confess  that  Christ  is 
also  the  supreme  example  of  genius  in  the  realm  of  intellect.  Soli- 
tary in  his  sinlessness,  he  is  also  supreme  in  his  genius." — Hillis. 

Matthew  v-vii;  xii,  i-8;  xv,  1-20;  xvi,  1-4;  xix,  3-12;  xxii,  15-46. 
Barrows  :    The  Personality  of  Jesus,  Chapter  IV. 
Hillis  :   Inilnence  of  Christ  in  Modern  Life,  Chapter  III. 
Schmidt  :    The  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  pages  362,  363. 


THE    EXEMPLAR    OF   HIS    TEACHINGS  163 

Fourth  Day  :  ^its  Jftcntal  9tcttbitp :  S>pcafeinff,  SDtficufiBian, 

Perhaps  there  is  no  other  enjoyment  in  general  social  life  greater 
than  that  of  the  orator  who  feels  his  power  of  swaying  the  minds 
of  his  hearers  and  touching  their  feelings  at  his  will.  In  the 
days  in  which  Jesus  lived,  when  books  were  much  less  common 
than  now,  and  when  history  and  doctrines  were  handed  down  from 
generation  to  generation  thru  the  memories  of  men,  all  great  teach- 
ers had  to  give  much  attention  to  their  form  of  expression,  so  that 
by  adding  a  touch  of  imagination  and  of  rhythmical  movement  to 
their  words,  they  could  impress  them  much  more  easily  and  indelibly 
upon  their  hearers.  For  centuries  attention  has  been  called  to 
Jesus'  marvelous  power  of  expression.  Nowhere  else  in  literature 
do  we  find  equaled  his  matchless  parables ;  nowhere  else  do  we 
find  such  profound  truth  clothed  in  language  so  simple,  direct,  pene- 
trating. He  was  clearly  a  teacher  and  a  speaker  of  transcendent 
power.  Barrows  says :  "The  entire  incident  [Luke  xii]  exhibits 
Jesus  as  an  orator,  who  handled  men  and  their  motives  as  marvel- 
ously  as  Demosthenes  or  Caesar  or  Bonaparte." 

Furthermore,  he  had  the  keenness  of  insight  and  the  power  of 
logical  analysis  which  enabled  him  instantly  to  match  his  powers  of 
intellect  against  the  shrewdest  debaters  of  the  scribes  and  Phari- 
sees. Baffled  by  his  greater  intellect,  they  felt  compelled  to  offset 
the  profound  influence  of  his  teaching,  if  possible,  by  showing  that 
his  words  were  blasphemous  or  his  teachings  revolutionary.  In  the 
various  accounts  given  in  the  Gospels  of  these  intellectual  contests, 
we  not  merely  are  told  of  his  victories,  but  the  detailed  record  shows 
us,  as  we  could  learn  in  no  other  way,  his  intellectual  as  well  as 
his  moral  and  spiritual  power.  Should  not  his  followers  who  are 
today  attempting  to  set  forth  his  doctrines  be  sure  that  they  are 
well  equipped  and  thoroly  trained  for  their  work  before  they  enter 
the  lists  to  uphold  his  principles? 


i64  SOCIAL   TEACHINGS   OF  JESUS 


Fifth  Day:  ipie  Consciottctntsis  of  fJototr  anH  Eiffbt 

"He  taught  them  as  one  having  authority." — Matthew  vii,  29. 

"Ye  call  me,  Teacher,  and,  Lord:  and  ye  say  well;  for  so  1  am." — 
John  xiii,  13. 

"The  will  of  Jesus  exhibits  manward  a  supreme  self-assertion, 
combined,  where  it  does  not  conflict  with  his  public  duty,  with  per- 
fect self-sacrifice." — Barrows. 

Matthew  xi,  25-30. 

John  viii,  12-18. 

Fairbairn  :    Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ,  pages  100-102,  131-133. 

Rhees  :    Life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Part  III,  Chapter  IV. 

Peabody  :   Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  pages  52  ff. 

Stalker:    The  Life  of  Jesus  Christ,  pages  109-116. 


THE    EXEMPLAR    OF   HIS    TEACHINGS  165 

Fifth  Day:  l^is  CoiiedatiBneM  of  |)otoer  anU  Kis;I)t 

To  the  enjoyment  which  every  strong  man  feels  in  the  mere  exer- 
cise of  power  and  influence  must  have  been  added  also  in  Jesus' 
experience  the  satisfaction  which  comes  from  the  consciousness  of 
right.  By  setting  himself  alone  against  the  historic  teaching  and 
the  universal  practice  of  the  ablest  and  wisest  and  best  of  his  day  in 
his  interpretation  of  the  Jewish  law,  notably  regarding  Sabbath 
observance,  ceremonial  cleansings,  the  regulations  for  the  conduct 
of  daily  life,  Jesus  showed  the  supremest  moral  daring.  He  also 
went  far  beyond  the  highest  teachings  of  the  prophets  in  his  analysis 
of  the  nature  of  the  Divine.  His  insight  into  the  nature  of  all  such 
problems  was  so  profound  that  he  knew  that  he  was  right;  and 
subsequent  ages  have  justified  his  sublime  self-confidence.  This 
consciousness,  however,  of  the  rightness  of  his  teaching  must  have 
been  for  him  a  source  of  the  greatest  comfort  and  of  the  deepest  joy. 


i66  SOCIAL    TEACHINGS   OF   JESUS 


Sixth  Day:  |)t£S  Ccrtaintp  of  ^ucccfis 

"Be  of  good  cheer;  I  have  overcome  the  world." — John  xvi,  23- 

John  xiv,  xv,  xvi,  xvii. 

Rhees  :    The  Life  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  Part  111,  Chapter  IV. 

Peaeody  :  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Christian  Character,  pages  52,  53. 


THE   EXEMPLAR    OF   HIS    TEACHINGS  167 

Sixth  Day  :  $)ts  Ccrtaintp  of  StucesB 

Thruout  the  period  of  his  active  teaching,  he  had  many  evidences 
of  the  great  influence  which  he  was  exerting.  Multitudes  followed 
him;  many  were  ready  to  proclaim  themselves  his  followers;  he 
saw  in  many  the  transformation  of  character  which  ever  since  his 
day  has  proved  that  his  teachings,  accepted  and  made  the  basic  prin- 
ciples of  life,  are  sufficient  to  work  a  change  of  character  and  habit 
such  that,  when  these  principles  become  universal  in  society,  there 
will  be  created  a  new  social  kingdom  divine  in  its  nature.  But  even 
in  this  consciousness,  he  felt  that  all  success  came  from  his  Father. 
He  realized,  perhaps  more  fully  than  any  of  his  followers  since  his 
day,  that  the  work  still  left  to  be  done  after  his  life  on  earth  was 
over  was  far  greater  than  could  be  accomplished  during  those  few 
years;  and  yet  he  also  realized  fully  that  he  was  master  and  that 
he  was  giving  to  society  a  life  principle  that  would  never  die.  "I 
am  come  that  they  might  have  life,  and  that  they  might  have  it  more 
abundantly."  And  even  during  the  last  few  days,  when  the  clouds 
were  gathering,  when  he  knew  that  the  end  was  near,  when  he  saw 
that  it  was  inevitable  that  he  should  drink  to  the  dregs  the  cup  of 
suffering,  he  still  knew  that  he  had  won,  that  he  had  fixed  his  spirit 
in  the  world  where  it  could  not  fail  to  be  successful.  "These  things 
I  have  spoken  unto  you,  that  in  me  ye  might  have  peace."  "In  the 
world  ye  shall  have  tribulation;  but  be  of  good  cheer;  I  have  over- 
come the  world."  Can  we  doubt  that  this  profound  conviction  was 
the  source  of  the  purest  joy  and  of  the  deepest  happiness? 


i68  SOCIAL    TEACHINGS   OF  JESUS, 

Seventh  Day:  Kebleto 

1.  Consciousness  of  the  care  of  the  Father  ought  to  make  us  con- 
tent. Is  such  content  helpful  in  stimulating  us  to  usefulness  in  so- 
ciety, or  does  it  take  away  the  stimulus  to  action? 

2.  Does  the  determination  to  cultivate  to  the  utmost  possible  one's 
personal  powers  imply  that  one  is  selfish?  Or  that  one  has  de- 
termined to  devote  himself  in  the  wisest  way  to  unselfish  labors? 

3.  Is  the  need  of  effective  expression  by  word  and  pen  as  great 
today  as  it  was  before  the  invention  of  printing?    Why? 

4.  Is  a  consciousness  (a  feeling  of  certainty)  that  we  are  right  in 
our  opinions  any  proof  that  we  are  not  mistaken? 

5.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  the  less  well  informed  are  likely  to  be  the 
most  positive  in  their  opinions? 

6.  How  far  does  the  influence  of  an  orator  or  writer  depend  upon 
(a)  his  character;  (b)  his  reputation  for  uprightness? 

7.  Does  the  habit  of  debating  tend  rather  toward  a  fair-minded 
knowledge  of  the  truth  of  the  question  at  issue,  or  toward  tlie 
strengthening  of  a  previously  formed  opinion,  whether  right  or 
wrong  ? 

8.  How  far  has  the  history  of  the  Christian  church  justified  the 
confidence  of  Jesus  in  the  success  of  his  work?  Consider  persecu- 
tions, martyrdoms,  heresies,  wars  for  religion,  sectarian  bitterness, 
arbitration  treaties,  changes  in  criminal  laws,  the  tendency  toward 
democratic  governments,  the  world  movement  toward  peace. 


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